


Book 1: Legacy

by Silvandar



Series: Legacy - OtaYuri Occult AU [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Occult, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Eventual Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Phichimetti, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Triggers, VictUuri, otayuri - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-10-08 14:15:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17387879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvandar/pseuds/Silvandar
Summary: Illforte Academy is a hidden sanctuary for a wide variety of occult creatures, human hybrids and people born with magical abilities. Taking students from 18 years old and upwards, it has been a haven for magical creatures for as long as anyone can remember. Within its walls, the inhabitants are safe... safe from the torches and pitchforks of the humans that is, not necessarily safe from each other.Yuri Plisetsky  is whisked to the protection of the school when his magical heritage is revealed at the unusually young age of 16, and his powers attract the attention of angry humans. Plunged into an occult world beyond his understanding, he finds himself surrounded by warlocks, werebeasts and demigods as he tries to understand his newly revealed abilities, the dark memories of death and pain that seep into his dreams, and the truth about his birthright as a Legacy - the reincarnation of a witch, doomed to be reborn over and over again until he can break the curse placed upon his soul.Book 1 / 3Updating weekly on Wednesdays.Visit theLegacy Discordto chat about the fic





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New project! Oh yeah... so I had a brilliant idea that got out of control and now here I am, writing yet another OtaYuri fic that is going to be the death of me. 
> 
> Workskin education from this [amazing tutorial](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5817334/chapters/13406284) <3 
> 
> I guess it's like if Harry Potter and Shadowhunters had a baby, and that baby grew into a terrifying goth monster that is riddled with death and angst. So basically, a typical Silvandar fic then, really. 
> 
> Much love <3 ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: References to torture, sexual abuse, PTSD

The arrival of a new student at the Academy was always a big deal, and the prefects and sub-prefects were on high alert for trouble as a result. When the new arrival was a witch, and well under the usual intake age at only sixteen years old, it was likely to draw the worst kinds of attention. As a result, the on-duty sub-prefect for the East Tower found himself in the Tower courtyard very early that morning following a tip off, searching for his new resident and hoping things hadn't got out of hand already.

Velvet tones and a cruel laugh nearby put Otabek on the trail and he increased his speed, sprinting across the wide yard and ducking around the corner to find his target. Growling angrily at the sight of the two 4th year predators who had trapped the new student beside the Tower gate, he snapped their names to call them off.

“Christophe, JJ... leave him alone right now!”

Three sets of irritated eyes met his gaze, and the two older students loosened their hold on the witch, who shrugged them off furiously and scuttled out of their range. He was small and slim, shorter than Otabek by a few inches and verging on emaciated. Not uncommon with new students, but his attitude was anything but frail. He was also heart-stoppingly beautiful; huge, bright green eyes and delicately sculpted nose, with a sharp jaw and cheekbones that could cut glass. Otabek dragged his attention away with difficulty and turned to the two equally gorgeous, yet entirely unappealing students that were still eyeing their intended prey.

“We were only saying hello” Chris sauntered across to the sub-prefect with a smirk, stopping just short of draping himself over the smaller man. JJ grinned, winking at the angry new student.

“Whatever. Leave him alone, period. I'm not kidding.”

“Put your claws away Otabek, he's fine. He can look after himself. He's a _Legacy_ after all!” With another cruel laugh, the two disappeared around the corner, leaving Otabek to face the witch alone.

“I'm sorry they...”

“What the hell was that?”

“Huh?”

Stalking up to the older boy, the new student pointed a finger into his face with a snarl. “I don't need your help. I don't want it, and I didn't ask for it. Stay the hell away from me.” With that he shoved his way past and out into the courtyard, the morning sun turning his blonde hair into a crown of glittering gold as he stormed away. Otabek stared after him in wonder for a long moment, then sighed and headed back indoors, forcing down the unexpected longings the newcomer had stirred up. He dreaded how many more of these incidents the tiny witch was going to have to endure if he refused to accept aid.

* * *

“Yuuri, I need your help.”

“What's new? I should start charging.”

“Haha. We have a new student, he arrived today. A witch, he's only 16.”

Yuuri Katsuki was perched on his bed, flicking through a grimoire as Otabek collapsed into the chair opposite him. He paused and rested the tome on his knee, raising an eyebrow.

“16? That's very young to come here.”

“Apparently he's a Legacy.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about him from Christophe. You stopped them breaking him in, right?” The second speaker was sat cross legged in mid air, floating in the corner, and Otabek threw him a disgusted look.

“Your _boyfriend_ is a vile predator, he needs to be muzzled and neutered” Otabek growled, and the floating man laughed.

“I'd like to see you try to neuter an Incubus hybrid. I'm pretty sure the only way is to actually kill them.”

“You're part demon too, can't you control him?”

Deep brown eyes opened and the floating student gave Otabek an unimpressed look. “Firstly, I'm part Djinn not demon. Entirely different species. Secondly, you don't 'control' your boyfriends, they're your partners, not your slaves. You'd know that, if you'd ever had one.”

“Well since your 'partner' likes sexually assaulting students on a fairly regular basis, I'd say there are some issues in your relationship.”

“According to him it's entirely consensual, and there's no evidence to the contrary. Plus, they usually enjoy it.”

Yuuri made a retching sound. “Oh yeah, consensual if you don't include getting hit with Incubus pheromones as a date rape drug.”

“Which it isn't, legally speaking, because there's no loss of consciousness or self control. People just like to make him happy when they're around him, and sex makes him happy.”

“The _only_ reason I'm tolerating this discussion right now Phichit is because I know you're probably as much of a victim as the rest, and this is your way of processing your trauma” Yuuri said, alarmingly lightly, and Otabek gaped at him as the floating student laughed.

“You two are terrifying.”

“What is it you actually want, Otabek? It's getting pretty late...”

“Oh, right. Yuri... that's the witch, his name is Yuri. Russian spelling though... anyway, he's in room 62. Would you keep an eye on him for me? Maybe try and make friends? He's magical like you, after all.”

“Witches and Warlocks are very different” Yuuri corrected him, but nodded anyway, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Fine... as long as I can use your room this weekend.”

“Oh no... not again...”

“You're not going to need it, and I have a _great and terrible need_ for privacy” he threw a glance at Phichit, who had resumed mediating. “I promise to change the bedsheets afterwards” he added, spotting Otabek's failing protest.

“Fine. But you'd better not let me down. If I find that witch has been in _any_ trouble at all while I'm out of commission, I'll be coming for you.”

“Understood and noted!”

* * *

The witch in question answered the door on the third knock, fixing Yuuri with a irritated glare.

“What?”

“Hi! I'm Yuuri.”

“Are you trying to be funny?”

They stared at each other for a moment, then the witch tossed his head haughtily. “ _I'm_ Yuri.”

“I know. Otabek asked me to introduce myself.” The Japanese man bowed, then grinned and waved a hand to shrug off the formality. “He thought you could use a friend, and since you bit his head off...”

The door slammed in his face.

“I'm like you!”

The door opened a crack. “What do you mean?”

“I'm human. A warlock, not a witch. But still, same species. I know what this place can be like at first...”

The door opened again and the other Yuri glared at his visitor again. “You eat food?”

“Uhh... yeah.”

“Great. Where can I get some?”

“You haven't eaten tonight?”

“I haven't eaten in two days... the trip here was brutal and the guy who brought me didn't seem to need to eat.”

“Long brown hair, jaw that could break rocks?” Yuri nodded. “Celestino. He's one of the teachers here... he's a dhamphir, so yeah, not big on eating food. You're lucky he's a good guy or he might have snacked on you to pass the time.”

“Fuck this place” Yuri snarled, and Yuuri laughed.

“Come on, I'll show you around the Tower and get you some dinner. What do you like to eat?”

“Anything without too many maggots in it.”

“I think we can do a _little_ better than that” Yuuri said, leading the blonde through the twisting stairs that filled the tower. As they walked, the warlock provided a running commentary on the layout, occupants and general information. It was like talking to a human guidebook.

“This is East Tower, it's where humans and human based creatures live. Witches, warlocks, some of the hybrids, werebeasts and so on. It corresponds to the magical element of Air and inspiration, which is what we're known for after all.”

Pointing down a corridor as they neared the ground floor, Yuuri indicated a large courtyard through the window. “Each Tower is built around a central courtyard, and takes up the walls that enclose the space. The bedrooms are arranged over several floors as you've seen, and access is via these stairs or straight across the courtyard if you want a shortcut. That wall” he pointed to a thicker structure “connects to the main building of the school. From that building you can access the classrooms, main dining hall and the entrance to the basements. The teachers and head prefects live in the main building, sub-prefects and students in their towers.”

Leading Yuri through a spacious common room at the base of the staircase, Yuuri indicated a buffet table laid out to one side. “Supper” he said, and the blonde approached the food warily. “Eat as much as you like... you can take plates to your room if you prefer, but you'll need to bring them back down for cleaning. You read the guidelines about you room, right?”

“Guidelines?”

“On the back of your door?”

“Oh. No.”

“Read it. You don't want to screw up and get punished this early in the term, it's not a good way to start.”

Yuri ignored that, focusing on the food. Cold meat, bread, cheese, fruit... it was a feast. There was even a vat of hot oats and bowls of honey. Snagging an apple and a hunk of cheese, he hid them in his clothes and then attacked a piece of chicken.

“When I first came here it took me months to get out of the habit of hiding food” Yuuri said, his tone deliberately light. “The idea that I could eat whenever I wanted, and no one was going to steal from me... that was pretty crazy. You'll get used to it eventually.”

“Don't think you know me, just because you're human too” Yuri snarled, the effect ruined by a mouthful of ham. The warlock smiled at him and pointed around the common room.

“Everything in here is shared. Books, the musical instruments, the food... if you need extra firewood for your room, you can take it from the pile. Everything perishable gets replaced... if you borrow something like a book or a guitar, you're expected to return it within a week so others can use it. That's about it really. We try not to make too much mess, or the sub-prefects get irritable and make us spring clean the place.”

Yuri followed his gesture, taking in the ceiling height bookshelves and the dozen or so couches sprawled around the huge room. Blinking, he glanced out of the window and then back at the space.

“How... how does this fit into this corner of the tower?”

“Magic” Yuuri said, pleased that the witch had noticed the weirdness of the dimensions. “Well spotted, most people don't notice for a few weeks.”

“How can you miss it?? It's giving me a headache...”

“Yeah, you'll get used to that too... the headaches will stop eventually. For now, trying not to look out of the windows will help. It's like a type of motion sickness if you focus on the distortion too much.” Noticing Yuri looking hungrily back at the buffet, Yuuri smiled and gestured for him to return to his room. “Take a plate up with you and eat in peace, get some rest and read the guidelines. There's always food on this table, if you get hungry later you can come back for more. It gets swapped for breakfast food about 6am. Not that anyone's ever awake at that time.”

* * *

Padding quietly into the common room just after 6, Yuri grinned as he saw loaves of warm, fresh bread and steaming porridge waiting for him. Helping himself to a large portion, he paused as he noticed a second tray laden with bacon and sausages, trying to rearrange his plate. Distracted, he didn't notice the other occupant of the room until he turned to go back upstairs, and he froze in place with a startled oath.

The tiger was sprawled out on one of the heavy leather couches, apparently asleep. Easily twice the size of the witch, its massive paws hung over the edge of the couch and twitched occasionally, revealing the tips of black claws as it flexed its toes in its dream. Its tail was looped over the arm of the couch, its head pressed against the other arm.

Yuri carefully put his plate down and looked around, wondering who'd just let a pet tiger sleep in the middle of a communal space. It was obviously a pet, it couldn't be a wild animal randomly dozing inside a building. No one was in sight, so Yuri indulged in a proper look at the beautiful creature. He'd only ever seen a picture of a tiger in a book, but he'd been enthralled by the patterns on its fur and the yellow of its eyes. Now he could see close up how the black stripes blended into the softer orange and white fluff on its belly, and the thicker white hairs of its whiskers on its face.

As he knelt in front of the beast to get a better view, it twitched an ear and then its eyes opened. Flinching backwards, Yuri had time to notice that its eyes were deep brown instead of yellow, before it yawned full in his face, exposing row after row of huge, sharp fangs. Whimpering, Yuri crawled backwards as the massive cat slipped off the sofa, stretching its legs out forward and back as it woke up fully. Once it was done stretching it eyed the witch and then began washing its face with a gigantic paw, calm and unconcerned about the trembling human in front of it.

“Who do you belong to?” Yuri breathed, wondering if he was allowed to ask for a pet tiger. The cat paused and stared at him, then made a snorting noise that sounded a lot like disgust.

“You're beautiful” Yuri told it, reaching a shaking hand out. The tiger very carefully pressed its nose forward until his fingers met the soft fur and he gasped at the heat of its pelt. Running his fingers over its nose and under its jaw as if he were petting a horse, Yuri's fear began to fade as the tiger let him stroke its fur, closing its eyes happily at the attention.

After a few minutes, Yuri carefully got to his feet and retrieved his breakfast, adding a few more pieces of chicken to his plate. “I don't know who left you in here, but it doesn't look like they fed you. Do you like chicken?”

Sitting on the couch, Yuri made a soft noise of surprise as the tiger climbed up next to him and curled up, resting the flat of its huge head against his thigh and ignoring the offered food. Shrugging, Yuri started eating, stroking the patterns over the tiger's shoulder and back as the huge cat chuffed happily next to him. They were still on the couch twenty minutes later when Victor appeared from upstairs and stared in amusement at the sight of the witch curled up in the tigers fur, dozing on a full stomach.

“You do know what time it is, right?”

The blonde jumped upright, hands raised in a fighting stance at the shock of being woken up. The tiger, in comparison, slowly raised its head and gave Victor a sleepy look.

“W-who are you” Yuri managed, lowering his hands as the taller man leaned against the wall with a smile.

“Victor. Head prefect of the Academy. Who are you?”

“Y-Yuri... I'm new...”

“Ah yes. The Legacy.” He watched the bright green eyes darken and shrugged. “Well, I won't be giving you any special treatment, you can rest assured of that. If you're the reason my sub-prefect is late going out on patrol, you'll be in trouble...”

At that, the tiger growled and sat up, fixing Viktor with what was definitely a glare. Yuri stared at the newcomer in confusion.

“Sub... I don't... what?”

“It's six thirty, Otabek. You should have been out of here half an hour ago.”

The tiger slipped gracefully off the couch and stretched, yawning and showing every one of his fangs to the taller man, who laughed at him. “Whatever. You don't scare me... much. Go do some work.” The tiger paused beside the stunned witch and gave him a tiny nuzzle as he left, and Victor shook his head. “I can't be too hard on him, I stole his bed after all.”

Yuri managed to get his throat to unlock as he crossed to the taller man, quivering in every limb with outrage and shock as he screamed into Victors startled face.

“What the fuck?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support with this fic. I'm glad you like the idea!

 

Wet grass and soft earth beneath his feet, wind rushing past his nose and ears as he ran, and the enticing scent of the witch getting fainter as he put distance between himself and the Academy building... cursing silently, Otabek stretched his limbs and dashed across the fields, desperately trying to outrun his embarrassment.

The instant he'd realised Yuri thought he was a pet, he should have walked away. Should have left the room, turned his back, done _anything_ other than play along, but the witch smelled like honey and spices, and his eyes were filled with so much longing... and Otabek had taken advantage of his ignorance just to get his ears scratched. He was no better than Christophe... well, maybe not that bad, but he felt keenly that he'd betrayed Yuri's trust. The blonde already disliked him, he would probably have nothing at all to do with him now.

Otabek's patrol lasted until midnight and consisted entirely of making sure none of the other were-creatures were on the loose during the full moon. Satisfied that everyone was securely in the building under wraps, Otabek made his way back to the tower and prowled through the silent corridors to his room, looking forward to stretching out on his bed. It was only when he heard the moaning from behind the locked door that he remembered his bargain with Yuuri. Hurriedly, he got himself out of range of the noise and the smell of musk, debating where to sleep. Still feeling guilty about the events of the morning, he decided against returning to the common room in case he ran into the other Yuri. Reluctantly, he settled down in an out of the way hall and tried to get some sleep on the freezing stone floor.

Yuri was lost _._ The tower was a maze, and he hadn't been able to build a mental map yet. He'd intended to go from the common room straight to his room, but had taken a bad turn somewhere and now the courtyard was the wrong way round. His head pounded from looking out of the windows for his bearings and getting hit with the unreal dimensions of the place. He had set out an hour ago, but his pride and natural self preservation forbade him to simply knock on doors for help. Rounding a corner and discovering a familiar stripey mass curled up in a ball, Yuri exhaled with equal levels of relief and irritation.

“Wake up, asshole.”

The scent of the witch had disturbed Otabek some minutes before, but he'd stayed where he was out of guilt, hoping Yuri would miss him. He smelled oddly stale, as if he'd been approaching panic, and Otabek had to fight the urge to go to him and help, but as the witch came round the corner and saw the weretiger his scent blossomed into a potent fragrance of honey and spice, tinged with the warmth of relief.

Opening his eyes, Otabek looked at him cautiously, wondering if he was about to get yelled at for his behaviour that morning. To his surprise, Yuri crouched down in front of him, concern replacing annoyance as he noticed how cold the other student was.

“Why are you sleeping in a freezing corridor?”

Unable to answer him in any useful language, Otabek nevertheless managed to convey a noise of humiliation. Yuri laughed. “Oh yeah, I remember. Victor's stolen your room, for some reason.” Narrowing his eyes, the blonde stood up. “I'll make you a deal – you show me the way back to _my_ room, and you can sleep in front of my fire tonight.”

The journey back to Yuri's side of the tower was exasperatingly short and straightforward, and by the time they arrived the blonde was muttering darkly to himself. Otabek waited outside the door as he stomped in and threw another few logs on the fire, until the weretiger's absence was noticed.

“Are you coming in or not?”

The weretiger put his paw halfway across the threshold then stopped and sat down, watching Yuri carefully.

“You're waiting for an invitation?” The witch sounded incredulous, but the weretiger made a huffing noise of agreement. “Come in, Otabek” Yuri said, beckoning as he climbed into the large bed and wrapped himself tightly in his blankets.

Nosing the door shut, the weretiger made a happy sound as the logs caught and warmth filled the small stone room. He stretched out carefully in front of the fire, making sure he wasn't blocking the heat from reaching the bed. Chuffing to himself with contentment, Otabek closed his eyes and let himself float in the natural perfume of the blonde as they both fell asleep.

* * *

Fearful sounds woke him a few hours later, accompanied by the same stale scent of fear as he'd detected in the corridor. Padding to the side of the bed, Otabek could see the witch writhing in his sleep, long, pale fingers clenched in the bedsheets as he whimpered and his eyes scrunched closed. Concerned, Otabek pushed himself up beside him and nudged his face with his nose, trying to wake him as gently as possible.

Unfortunately, waking up from a nightmare into a face full of tiger was always going to be a shock, and Yuri reacted by yelling and punching Otabek in the head. Grunting, the weretiger lay down beside the witch, guiltily nuzzling him as the blonde nursed his hand. Striking Otabek had been like hitting a fluffy wall.

“Why did you wake me up like that?”

A soft grunt and Otabek rolled his eyes, trying to indicate the necessity of his actions.

“I... I was having a nightmare, wasn't I.” It wasn't a question, but the weretiger made the noise Yuri was starting to associate with affirmation and agreement. “Fuck.”

Snuggling against the blonde until he curled up under the sheets again, Otabek closed his eyes as Yuri stroked the fur on his neck absently, lost in his thoughts. The repetitive motion was soothing, but after a few minutes the weretiger shifted his head, indicating a preference for a different spot. Smiling, Yuri moved his hands up and over the tufts of his ears, scratching lightly at the base where they met his massive skull.

“Needy fucker” he told him, companionably, and Otabek huffed his approval, eyes closing in bliss. “So who _normally_ scratches your ears at this time of the month?”

A disapproving snorting noise, and Yuri raised an eyebrow. “No one? You're a prefect, right? I'm surprised you're not fighting them off with a stick.”

Otabek snorted again and gave Yuri a baleful look. The witch shrugged, pulling himself closer to the weretiger for warmth and resting his head on an enormous paw. Usually Otabek hated his feet being touched in tiger form, but he found the closeness comforting and sighed, exhaling warm air over the blonde's face and making him wrinkle his nose.

“I hope your breath smells better as a human.” Lying in silence for a while, Yuri distracted himself by tracing the striped patterns on Otabek's foreleg while his mind slowly cleared from his nightmare.

“I dream about dying” he said, after a silence so long that Otabek had been sure he'd fallen asleep. Raising his head, the weretiger pressed his nose against Yuri's cheek for a moment. “It hurts” he said, curling up reflexively and burying his head against Otabek's shoulder so his voice was muffled by his fur. The tears he was trying to hide were warm and wet against Otabek's pelt, and his voice throbbed with emotion. “I feel the pain every time... I die over and over again, all different ways, different places. I mean... I suppose they're memories of my past, not just dreams... they feel so real. I _know_ they're real... but it's the only thing I can remember.”

* * *

A silence fell over the common room as Yuri and Otabek entered together, heading for the breakfast table. The weretiger flicked his tail, a gesture the other students knew to mean 'mind your own business', and after a few stunned seconds the normal activities resumed. Only Yuuri approached them, and he did so with a smirk that instantly annoyed the blonde.

“What are you grinning about?”

“Oh nothing, nothing. I see you two have made peace?”

“Fuck off.”

“Charming as always. What are your plans for today, Yuri?”

“I dunno. Avoiding you?”

“Well you're out of luck there, I'm kidnapping you.”

“Like hell you are.”

“Victor suggested I give you a tour of the school, since it's Saturday.”

“Victor? The prefect who stole Otabek's room?”

“Ah... you know about that? Oh... is _that_ why he slept with you last night?”

“How do you know where he slept?!”

“You're covered in tiger fur... you didn't notice?”

“Fucks sakes... he sheds??”

Watching the two humans banter, Otabek stretched out on the rug and washed his shoulder, trying to remove the intoxicating smell of the witch from his pelt. Yuri had clung to him and wept for an hour or so before eventually falling into an exhausted, dreamless sleep, and the scent of him coated the weretiger. Not that Otabek minded, but he knew others in the Academy had good noses too, and he preferred not to advertise his activities so blatantly.

He was distracted enough by cleaning himself that he failed to notice when the banter stopped and the humans sat staring at him in amusement. Pausing part way down his foreleg, he glanced up as the silence got through to him, his tongue partly out of his mouth mid lick.

“He... he really is a cat, isn't he?”

“Yep. Be thankful he's only washing his leg.”

The irritated snort from the weretiger telegraphed what he thought of that comment, and they both laughed. Otabek decided he very much liked hearing the blonde laugh.

* * *

Yuuri and Yuri explored the school for most of the day. The warlock was an unexpectedly entertaining guide, especially since he seemed to hate talking to people almost as much as the blonde. They frequently ducked around corners or hid beneath staircases to avoid the attention of the other students, giving Yuri a chance to note hiding places for future use. Near the southern edge of the building, the older student stopped and pulled a face.

“This is as close as we get to South Tower. It's... it's not a good idea for humans to go near that place.”

Illforte Academy was arranged around the four alchemical and magical elements, Yuuri explained, and the towers reflected this. North was Earth Tower, home to faeries, nymphs, elves and similarly forest-and-field inclined creatures. East was Air and humanoids, a spectrum that included were-creatures, magical practitioners, and some of the hybrids like djinn, celestial and so on. South was Fire, and housed the demon hybrids, vampires and their dhamphir cousins, dragonkin, and anything else that was innately destructive or chaotic. West was Water and backed directly onto the lake, with access via a concealed underwater entrance for those students who preferred to live in the depths. The creatures there included mer-folk, kappa, sprites, selkies and other, stranger things that rarely set foot on land.

Glancing at the grand staircase that nearly filled the entrance hall, Yuri expressed his distaste for the building. “The layout makes no sense. This staircase has no business being that big.”

“Where are you from, again?”

“A long way from here... to the north, where it snows. Why?”

“I was just wondering... you've probably never been in a place like this. It's an ancient Germanic castle, with a few designs from other countries that have been added on over the years.”

“What's 'Germanic'?”

“Germanic... as in, Germany? Which isn't far from here, actually.”

Yuri still looked blank, and the warlock put his head to one side. “Did you go to school where you lived before?”

“Don't be ridiculous, do I look like an aristocrat?”

“Hmm. So what did your family do?”

Yuri turned and gazed out of the window, pretending to watch a pair of students bickering over part of a book. His voice was clipped and deliberately neutral as he replied. “They were farmers, and we had almost no land so they kicked me out. Too many mouths to feed, not enough crops or money. I was thirteen. I've been alone ever since.”

“Ah” Yuuri said delicately, matching Yuri's carefully blank tone. “Well, some of the things they teach you here are world history, and where places are, things like that. Can you read and write?”

“Of course I can, I'm not a moron” the witch snapped, and Yuuri smiled.

“What language?”

“Um... I don't know what it's called, it's just writing...”

Yuuri passed a piece of parchment and a wooden holder containing a piece of graphite, indicating that the blonde should write with it. Carefully, frowning with concentration, Yuri spelled out the characters of his name and then handed the paper over for inspection. His handwriting was crude and showed a lack of practice, barely legible. The warlock squinted at it for a moment then grinned in triumph.

“Ah, this looks like Russian! OK, good... now I know why you didn't read the guidelines in your room... they're written in German... wait a second...” frowning, Yuuri ran the last few minutes back through his mind and then shifted language, asking the witch to pass him back his pencil. Yuri handed it over, and the warlock grunted.

“Who cast the spell on you? Was it Yakov?”

“Spell? What spell?”

“It's called the Untainted Tongue enchantment. It translates any language you hear into one you can understand, and anything you say into a specific native language. You're speaking German” he added, seeing the bewildered look on Yuri's face.

“No I'm not.”

“And hearing Russian, presumably. I just spoke to you in _my_ native language... Japanese. You still understood me though.”

“Bullshit.”

Yuuri sighed. “I can't prove it to you without dispelling it, and I'm pretty sure Yakov would wring my neck if I tried. Not that I could, anyway, he's far too powerful for me to mess with any of his spells... but he'd know I was tampering with you.”

Thinking about the previous night, Yuri pulled a face. “If that's true, it doesn't always work. I can't understand what Otabek's saying, although I know he's trying to tell me things.”

“Not when he's a tiger, no. It doesn't work on animals, only human languages. Hmm. It means you won't be able to _learn_ any new languages either... let's see your class schedule? It should be in the folder you've got in your bag.”

Pulling the leather knapsack onto his front, Yuri dug through it. “I wondered why you told me to bring this.”

“I figured I'd show you where your classes were... but you won't be able to read the schedule either, I expect.” He glanced over it and noted the absence of a Linguistics elective. “Numerology and arithmetic, History, Geography, Comparative Religion, Biodiversity, Alchemy, Potions, Arts, Magic Theory and Practical Spellcraft. Looks about right for a witch... but if you can't read the texts you're going to struggle.”

Glancing at the books Yuri had been given, the warlock clicked his tongue in annoyance. “These are useless... German, English, Gaelic... you won't be able to read any of it. How stupid. I hate this place sometimes.”

“Why would they bother to give me books, then make it impossible for me to learn anything?” Yuri demanded, and the other student shook his head in frustration.

“Where did you get these from?”

“I was taken to a big room full of bookshelves. Celestino gave them a piece of parchment and then dropped me off at the Tower once they'd given me this bag.”

“Typical one-size-fits-all approach to first years. Doesn't surprise me. They probably assume you could read them.”

“I _can_ read.”

Yuuri opened a book at random and held it out. The lettering was a strange mix of familiar characters and strange little squiggles, and Yuri curled his lip.

“How well can you read in Russian?”

“I can read the slate at an Inn, and I can write out my name. What more do I need?” Seeing the expression on his companion's face, Yuri sagged a little.

“So what do I do?” the blonde sounded tired and defeated, and the warlock fought back an unexpected urge to comfort him. He knew him well enough by now to suspect that acknowledging a moment of weakness was likely to get him kicked in the face. Thinking through his options, he decided to be proactive instead.

“Let's go have a little chat with Victor, get a Russian copy of your schedule and see if we can sort out your books as well. He owes me a favour. After that, we just need to find you a tutor that can read and write Russian... and I happen to know a likely candidate.” Yuuri winked, and cheerfully led the way up the central staircase towards the prefects' floor.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Head prefects lived on the third floor of the main building, just below the teachers quarters. Each had a suite of rooms including a lounge, study, private bathroom and bedroom, as well as having a servant to clean up after them. Their jobs were difficult and dangerous, as they were responsible for keeping the often combative student population in line. The extensive rooms and privileges reflected this.

Yuuri explained this as he led the way to Victor's rooms, pointing out the four suites. Each tower had one head prefect, and they could promote up to three sub-prefects to help them keep order. As well as managing the student body, they also had to maintain their grades and follow any instructions given to them by the teaching staff, so they chose their subordinates carefully and delegated a fair bit of work.

To Yuri's surprise, the warlock produced a key to Victors door and pushed inside without knocking, calling out the Head Prefect's name in a sing-song voice as they entered the suite. Victor was in the lounge, and wrapped his arms around the Japanese student in greeting, pressing his cheek against Yuuri's dark hair with a happy sigh.

“To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

Smiling, Yuuri touched Victor's cheek affectionately then disengaged, aware of the sounds of embarrassment coming from the witch. “I need to cash in a favour” he indicated Yuri, rolling his eyes as he explained the situation with his books.

“I can probably find Russian versions for some of them, but it would be much easier for you to convert them yourself” Victor pointed out, and Yuuri made an indelicate sound.

“ _Obviously,_ but I can't. That spell requires components I'm not allowed to handle as a third year.”

“You're only a third year? I thought you were a lot older than me” Yuri frowned, and Victor shrugged.

“What does age have to do with anything?”

“He hasn't been able to read the orientation materials” Yuuri said gently, “and I've been trying to explain important things first.”

“You're helping him at no cost?” Victor asked, beaming at the warlock. Yuuri wriggled a little in self-consciousness and made a face.

“Don't tell anyone. I get enough abuse for being nice to _you_.”

Laughing, the Head Prefect indicated they should sit down. “Stay here a minute, and explain to him about Exams. I'll go get the materials you need for the spell. You can use them under my supervision, right?”

Yuuri pulled out his parchment and wrote a quick list. “Make sure the lambs blood is fresh, get it from the kitchen if you can.”

“I won't be long. There's tea on the sideboard” Victor took the list and delivered a quick kiss to the top of Yuuri's head, winking at the other Yuri as he left. An awkward silence descended as the door closed behind him.

“So _you're_ why he stole Otabek's bed.”

Yuuri flushed and wriggled again. “Otabek doesn't need it when he's a tiger.”

“Victor has an entire suite... why is he sneaking into the tower at all?”

Sighing, Yuuri fetched the tea and handed Yuri a cup, dropping onto the other couch. “Did anyone explain to you how grades work here?”

“No, but I've heard of schools. I know you progress each year...”

“Not here, you don't. This place is a bit unique. You only progress to the next year if you pass your Exams in the summer. _All_ of your exams, one for each subject. Grades between the pass and fail mark stay in the year they're in until they change their scores either way. If you fail _any_ of them, you go down a year... and you get punished.” The last statement had a bitter undertone, and Yuri narrowed his eyes.

“That's what happened to you?”

“In May, yes. I stupidly let my Astronomy grade slip and got bumped back down to third year, plus I got a first-level punishment; my room-mate” he grimaced, “who also failed his exams... Conjuration, I think it was, and was bumped and punished accordingly.”

“That still doesn't explain Otabek's temporary homelessness.”

“Each grade comes with privileges, and when you change grade, they change too. You get everything from the year before, plus new ones when you increase your grade. Fourth year students are allowed to be outside their towers at night. Third years aren't.”

“So that's why you have a key for Victor's room...”

“Bingo.”

“OK, so what happens to _first_ years who fail their exams?” Yuri looked worried.

“Depends on why they fail. Sometimes they don't want to learn, or are just here to hide away. They're given a chance to be educated, but if they spurn it, they're usually offered jobs instead. Servants, cooks, things like that. Most of what is consumed here is grown on the grounds, we don't have a lot of contact with the outside world. So there are openings for farmers, herders, all sorts. Most of them stay here for life, raise families, that sort of thing. The students who graduate at seventh grade are free to leave, of course.”

“How big _is_ this place?”

“The grounds are an 80 acre river valley. The school itself is built at the deepest part, where the river empties into the lake. All along the river are smallholdings and farms growing food and raising animals. The community is pretty tightly knit, and all of them are like us in one way or another. The merfolk provide fish from the lake and raise some of the water plants that are used as food and spell components. It's a pretty stable place, plus of course it's well hidden from normal humans. Illforte has been here for a very long time.”

Yuri thought about that. “So if I just refused to learn, I'd have to be a servant for the rest of my life?”

“Pretty much. Unless you caused trouble as well, then you'd be Expelled. Usually they only do that to students for killing people though, since Expulsion is permanent.”

Pulling out his class schedule, Yuri gazed at the incomprehensible lettering. “What if I fail because I'm stupid?”

“You're not stupid” Yuuri protested immediately, and the witch sneered at him.

“Answer the question.”

“You'd be expected to repeat the first year until you can pass it. Some students take decades, some pass first time. It depends how much you are willing or able to learn, and how much you want to progress.”

“How hard are the exams?”

“The pass rate is 90%. Below 70% is a fail. Anything between the two is called a 'maintenance grade' and you stay in your year.” Spotting confusion, he clarified “percent means 'out of a hundred'... so if you had one hundred questions you'd have to get ninety right to go up, or more than 70 to stay right where you are. Below 69 would see you go down or repeat your first year.”

“That's... that's fucking insane.”

“It's not designed to be easy” Yuuri drained his teacup and began tidying the lounge, complaining at the mess. “I've practically lived in these rooms for the last three years, I'm away for three months and look at the state of it.”

“People don't want to leave, do they. That's why you can stay in your grade. No one has to graduate if they don't want to.”

“The world is dangerous and harsh for most of the people in this place. The Academy offers a sanctuary... but there are some very strict rules here, and the punishments for breaking them are usually severe. Things are safe here, and nothing much really changes... which is why _you_ don't make sense” Yuuri added, giving the witch a serious look. “You're underage, and you have almost no understanding of your powers. There's no reason for you to even know about this place... yet here you are.”

Making a play of finishing his tea, Yuri hid his emotions as he replied. “Until March, I was completely normal. Then I turned 16 and everything went to hell. When Celestino finally found me, I was running for my life from a town I'd lived in for three years, a place I thought was home.”

“A teacher was _searching_ for you?”

“He said it was a spell... that it alerted the Headmaster when my powers appeared, and it also instructed them to come and get me.”

“Who put it on you?”

Yuri looked up at him, pain and frustration in his eyes. “I did. Apparently I asked Yakov to cast it on me when I Awakened... in my last life. It primes when I'm reborn, and activates when I get my powers, no matter how old I am. Yakov said... he said he'd done it before, to bring me back here. That I always ask him to do it, to protect myself in my next life.”

“Woah.”

“This Legacy thing... it's a nightmare.” Yuri pushed his cup aside and put his head in his hands, tugging his hair in frustration. “I keep coming across people who say they've met me before, but they won't tell me anything about my last life... and they say _I told them not to_. They tell me to trust myself, that once I Awaken when I'm 21 I'll remember everything I need... but that means I have _years_ of not knowing anything about myself, when people around me know more than I do _._ It's driving me mad.”

Sitting beside the witch, Yuuri hugged his knees to his chest and looked at him with sympathy. “You must have been through this before, and it turned out OK. Can't you try to just deal with what's in front of you?”

“Turned out OK? I _died... again._ That's the only thing I can remember... dying, over and over again. I... I see it in my dreams. I'm always young, and I'm always doing something really dangerous, somewhere out in the world. Sometimes I'm murdered, sometimes it's an accident... but no matter how I die, I look around the same age... mid twenties.”

“So that means... you keep coming back here when you get your powers, but when you get your memories back at 21 you leave, only to die a few years later?”

“Exactly. And _no one_ will tell me why... because I forced them not to.”

* * *

Victor returned to a subdued pair of humans sat on the couch together drinking fresh tea. Yuuri gave him a relieved kiss and a cuddle before taking the spell components from him and kicking a rug out of the way to reveal a large painted design on the floor. Curiosity got Yuri's attention despite his miserable, circular thoughts, and he asked Victor what the warlock was doing.

“He's going to convert your books into Russian so you can read them. It's a transmutation spell, so he needs some ingredients, the books and a ritual space to work with.”

“Will I learn to do this sort of thing one day?” Yuri sounded disbelieving, and Victor chuckled.

“No... this is strictly warlock magic. You'll be learning much more practical things... healing, cursing, hexing, potions to do any number of interesting things to people.”

“Is that what you do?”

Victor laughed out loud. “No no, I'm not magically talented at all.”

“What _are_ you then?”

“You might want to be careful how you ask that question, and who you ask it to. Most people don't like sharing personal information with strangers.”

Yuri curled his lip. “You know things about me, why shouldn't I know something about you?”

“Well that's a good point I suppose. Hmm. How much do you know about the gods?”

“The priest in our village was a miser and liked the little choir boys... I hated going to church. I know we had a secret shrine to Freyja in our farm to make the crops grow, but apart from that...”

“At least that's the right pantheon. OK... so you've heard stories about how sometimes the old gods take on mortal form and go amongst people?”

“Sure. Odin, Thor, Loki... they do it a lot.”

“Sometimes they... well, they're amorous with human women... and children are the result.”

Yuri stared at him, startled. “Are you saying you're a... a godling?” Victor chuckled at the creativity of the made up word, nodding his head.

“Technically we're called demigods, but yes. My father was Odin, the Allfather of the Norse gods. He suggested I come here when I began to struggle with my abilities. Turns out, humans don't like prophets and seers unless we give them what they want to hear.”

“What. The. Fuck.”

“You say that a lot.”

“Well there's a fuck of a lot here to deal with.”

Victor folded his legs up beneath him on the couch, watching lovingly as Yuuri piled the books in the middle of his circle, ready to start the spell. “Don't pay too much attention to the words, they'll probably give you a headache” he suggested to the witch, and Yuri groaned.

“I've had a headache permanently since I got here.”

“Get Yuuri to make you some Willowbark extract once you're back in the tower, he's pretty handy with potions. It'll help with your head. It's probably a good sign, that you're struggling to adjust.”

“Why the fuck would that be a good thing?”

“You're sensitive to the magic around here, and intelligent enough to notice how weird everything is, which probably means you're going to be quite powerful once you start learning” Yuuri interrupted, “now kindly shut up, both of you, I need to concentrate, or your books might end up in some very unpleasant demonic languages instead of Russian.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for supporting this series so far. It means so much to know you like it <3

 

Padding back through the common room, Otabek stopped in front of one of the large leather chairs, chuffing softly at the dozing witch to wake him him. With a murmur, Yuri opened bleary green eyes and stared at the tiger.

“What are you doing in my room?” Grunting, Otabek deliberately made a show of looking around, and Yuri followed his gaze. “Oh. What time is it?”

The tiger nudged him to his feet, and without thinking Yuri sank his fingers into his pelt for comfort, yawning. “Yuuri has your room again?” Otabek made a disconsolate noise, and Yuri shook his head. “You're a sucker. Come on, you can keep me warm.”

Climbing up onto Yuri's bed, the tiger watched as the witch brushed a hand through his hair and splashed water over his face. When he began to strip down to his underwear, Otabek carefully turned his head away and the blonde laughed at him.

“Shy? Really?”

Keeping his face turned away, Otabek refused to look back at him until he felt movement on the bed next to him and heard the rustle of sheets. Then he lay his head on his paws as Yuri cuddled against him, pressing his face into his fur.

“You smell like grass and leaves” Yuri told him, and he snorted confirmation, nibbling at a claw. “You were out on patrol again?” Another affirmative grunt, and Yuri turned over so his back was against Otabek's side, maximising the warmth from the tiger. Waiting for him to settle down, Otabek cautiously shifted his weight and draped a paw over his shoulder, enclosing him in the heat beneath his foreleg and pulling him tighter against his fluffy belly.

“You can stay” Yuri decided, murmuring happily as the warmth seeped into his body. Closing his eyes, he cursed as he remembered he hadn't locked the door. “Damn... oh well. If anyone tries to get in they'll have a face full of angry weretiger, right?” Otabek grunted agreement, pressing his nose against Yuri's hair. With a tiny smile, the witch burrowed deeper into the mass of fur and sheets, falling quickly into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

“Just the tiger I was looking for.”

Otabek looked up from washing his chest, instantly wary at the warlock's cheerful tone as he knocked on Yuri's open door and strode in. “Oh don't worry” Yuuri said, giving the blonde witch sat next to him a knowing look, “you'll like this favour, I promise.”

“Don't just walk in!” Yuri snarled, leaning back on his pillows. He'd been staring at his class schedule, hoping it would magically become understandable if he glared at it for long enough.

Waiting for the tiger to grunt in acknowledgement, the warlock pointed at Yuri. “He needs a tutor. You're the weretiger for the job.”

A tiger could not raise his eyebrows, so Otabek settled for flicking his tail. “Reading and writing Russian” Yuuri explained, “he's got the basics but he needs much more than that. You're the only person I can think of that he'd let teach him.”

“I'm sitting right here you know” Yuri commented, and the warlock made a dismissive gesture.

“You'll do it, right Otabek? You can read and write in Russian, can't you?”

He could, but that wasn't the point. Snuffling, he glanced towards the west wall deliberately.

“Victor's too busy” Yuuri protested, “I know he's the other option, but he's got the summer intake coming over the next few weeks, and Yuri needs to learn as much as he can before classes start in the fall. It needs to be you.”

“He doesn't want to, stop banging on” Yuri growled, and Otabek sent an equally irritable snort in his direction. Curling his nose as if he'd smelled something strong, he huffed and stood up, moving so he could see the pile of books on Yuri's desk. Most of the subject matter was familiar, and the Cyrillic was well within his abilities to read.

“Is that a yes?” Yuuri grinned as the tiger huffed agreement, and the witch covered his face with his hands.

“Great. You get to see how thick I am. That's perfect. Thanks Yuuri.”

“You're _not_ thick” the warlock growled at him forbiddingly, “stop _saying_ that. Intelligence and skills are very different things. You've got a quick mind, you just need some training. You'll be able to start soon, tomorrow's the last day of the full moon.”

“How long will it take before I can read?”

“That depends on how hard you work, and how much you manage to annoy your teacher.” Otabek jumped back up onto the bed and rested his chin on the witch's knee in response, and Yuuri fought back a grin as the blonde scratched the tiger's ears absently. “I suspect he'll be hard to annoy. He seems quite taken with you.” Otabek's final snort was loud enough to drive the warlock to his feet and out of the room, leaving them in peace with a chuckle.

* * *

The last day always left Otabek feeling tired and drained. The fading full moon made him itchy all over, and he had to fight the urge to scratch at his flesh. He dealt with the discomfort by doubling his patrol to wear himself out, knowing that escapes and incidents were more likely on the last day as everyone felt the effects of the changing phase of the moon. By the time he returned to the tower at midnight, he was exhausted and the inability to use his own room grated on his already strained nerves.

Yuri let him in after a single light scratch on his door and the weretiger flopped down on the rug in front of the fire with a groan. Watching him stretch out, the witch came and sat in front of him, raising an eyebrow when Otabek drew away from his outstretched hand.

“What's the matter?”

It was difficult to express 'I feel like I have ants under my skin and I want to eat someone out of frustration' as a tiger, so Otabek settled for rolling his eyes and huffing unhappily. Yuri put his head on one side.

“You don't want your ears scratched?”

He did, but that would lead to wanting an all-body scratch, so he grumped again.

“I don't know what's wrong with you, but you look pissed off. Yuuri still has your room?”

A grunt, and the witch shook his head. “When you turn back you'll have to tell me _why_ you gave up your room for the weekend. For now, come to bed.” Rising from the floor, the blonde beckoned as he climbed into his sheets. Otabek stood up, then sat back down again and looked guilty.

“What is it? Hurry up, it's cold without you.”

Sighing, the weretiger gave up and climbed onto the bed. His blood was humming, a sign that he only had a few hours before the full moon faded... Yuri would be waking up to a naked human asleep next to him, something the witch obviously hadn't realised. Unable to explain it, and sensing that any reluctance would lead to Yuri feeling angry and rejected, Otabek had little choice but to curl up next to him, with the intention of dozing until he turned back. He just hoped he'd wake up before the blonde so he could sneak out. As usual though, as soon as Otabek lay down and Yuri cuddled into his fur everything else faded away and there was just warmth and the comforting smell of the human. The weretiger fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

* * *

Yuri didn't realise he'd become used to waking up under a pile of fur until it wasn't there. The absence of fluff under his fingers made no sense as he drifted back to consciousness, and he spread out his hand, searching for the familiar sensation. Instead, he encountered warm, soft skin and his eyes shot open. Staring at the canopy of the bed for a long moment, his heart pounding in his chest from shock, he let his fingers rest against the unexpected flesh next to him as he summoned the courage to look and find out what type of person he was holding on to. He couldn't remember what his companion looked like, he'd only seen Otabek as a human once, very briefly, before anger had carried him away from the sub-prefect. After that, there was nothing but tiger.

A glance sideways brought relief as he saw his fingers resting on a strong, smooth bicep. Pulling his hand away, his eyes followed the length of the limb to discover it was tucked over his chest, exactly where the paw had been the previous night. The weretiger was asleep on top of the sheets, lying on his front with his arm over the blonde.

In human form, Otabek was short and slender, with well developed muscles and thick, dark brown hair shaved into an undercut. His symmetrical, beautiful features had an angular cast, his skin a pale tan that tinted to a warmer tone at his lips. Physically speaking, he was glorious.

Yuri's movements disturbed Otabek's sleep, and the witch watched with interest as big brown eyes opened and a look of mortification settled on the weretiger's face. Yanking his arm away from the blonde, he dragged the sheets around his body as he flushed and refused to make eye contact.

“Good morning” Yuri said, deliberately lightly, and the weretiger flushed even darker.

“I... I'm sorry...” Otabek coughed, licking his lips as his voice cracked from three days of disuse. Yuri passed him a cup of water from his side table, and the other student drank gratefully.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I... I couldn't explain last night... but I knew I'd wake up like this... I shouldn't have stayed here...”

“This would be a better look on the common room couch? Or freezing in a corridor?”

That was a good point, and Otabek didn't have a counter for it. Sighing, he rubbed his hands over his arms and torso, shivering as he adjusted to different sensations and softer, furless skin.

“I'll... I'll head up to my room” he said, pausing as he prepared to roll away and get out of the bed. Yuri raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by his shyness. “C-could you look away?”

“Not a chance” the blonde shook his head.

Otabek hunched up into a ball under the sheets and buried his head in his hands. “You're enjoying this” he accused, and Yuri grinned, rolling over to face him properly.

“A tiny bit” he admitted. The squirming from the older boy was entertaining and the flush made him even more attractive. Reaching across, Yuri tugged Otabek's hands away from his face and pulled the weretiger's arms back around him, resting his head under Otabek's chin and cuddling against his chest. Sighing, he closed his eyes and waited for the shocked tension in his companion's embrace to fade. When it didn't, he frowned and ran a fingernail gently over Otabek's wrist where it lay over his shoulder.

“What's the matter?”

“N-nothing... I... I just... I'm surprised you're letting me stay.”

Yuri's confused frown deepened. “You don't have to act shy.”

Otabek decided he couldn't deal with that, so he ignored it. Instead, he focused on something far more important.

“If I'm going to stay here, could I please have some more of the sheets? It's really cold.”

“You're boiling hot” Yuri protested, and Otabek shrugged.

“Not really, I just seem warm compared to a human. It's draughty in here.”

Shrugging, Yuri turned over and dragged the sheets from around his body, pushing the fabric towards the weretiger and then snuggling back against him. A few wriggles and he had his back pressed against Otabek's chest, making it easier to pull the other boy's arm's around him again. It was only when he lay still that he realised Otabek was making a soft mewling noise of distress. The blonde buried his face in his pillows to stifle his laughter and deliberately wriggled his hips again, amused at the sounds coming from his companion.

“You don't have to be so tense, Otabek.” The noise this time was strangled and negative, and Yuri rolled back over immediately. “Or do you prefer it this way round?”

“Please don't” Otabek begged, his eyes tightly closed. The last wriggle as Yuri had turned over had been particularly difficult to cope with, and the blonde seemed to find his discomfort very confusing. The weretiger was keeping his hips as far away from the witch as possible, but he was still unable to hide the effect Yuri was having on him.

Snuggling closer, Yuri pressed his nose against Otabek's jaw as he slipped his leg over the other boy's thigh, winning another strangled gasp. Pulling Otabek against him, he could feel the heat and pressure, and he murmured in surprise at the size of his companion.

“It's OK” he purred again, and the weretiger's eyes opened, revealing pupils blown huge with desire. “I don't mind if you fuck me.”

Frowning, Otabek pulled back, the unexpected words cutting through his growing arousal. “Y-you _don't mind if I..._ W-what...”

“Yeah, I don't mind.” Sensing something had changed with the weretiger, Yuri released his hold on him, defensiveness beginning to rise. “Why, are you into forcing it? I mean, I could say no if you'd prefer...”

“What the _fuck_ ” Otabek snarled, “of _course_ I'm not into... what do you think I am?”

“I don't know” Yuri responded with a growl of confusion. “This is the first time I've properly talked to you. I don't know what you'd like... but I know that's why you were nice to me... why you said you'd teach me... I knew you were just waiting until you turned back...”

“You thought that's why... that I just wanted to... what the hell, Yuri?” Otabek's tone was stunned and horrified, and the blonde's expression came crashing down with humiliation. Turning away and pulling the sheets around him, he seemed to shrink in on himself.

“Get out.”

“W-what?”

“I said _get out”_ the witch ended on a shout, and Otabek leaped off the bed to get away from the sudden heat of his anger. The air around him was warming up, sparks flying from his fingertips as he glared at the weretiger. The older student wrenched the door open and fled, before anything got set on fire.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conflict O_o


	5. Chapter 5

“Yuuri, I've fucked up.”

The weretiger collapsed onto the chair opposite Yuuri's bed, his head in his hands. Two days after the bedroom incident, the other Yuri still hadn't spoken to him or even looked at him, while his door had been firmly locked.

Nodding at the uninvited guest, the warlock glowered at Phichit until he took the hint and exited the room with a dark mutter. Then he turned back to the disconsolate sub-prefect slumped amongst the cushions.

“What did you do?”

Otabek awkwardly explained about waking up naked next to Yuri, and the blonde's weirdly sexual behaviour and subsequent rage / silent treatment. The bafflement was clear in his tone, and the warlock sighed with resignation.

“Damn. I knew he'd had a rough life before he came here, but I was hoping it wasn't that bad. He's so young...”

“What are you talking about? Do _you_ understand what I've done wrong? If so, please tell me, it's doing my head in.”

Pursing his lips, Yuuri thought about how to explain the situation to his friend. Otabek's life experiences as a were-beast in the wild were harsh, but in a very different way to those faced by humans trying to survive in urban areas.

“He's humiliated because he expected a certain type of behaviour from you, and you didn't react the way he's used to. Now he thinks you'll judge him because of it... because now you know the things he's had to do to survive. I think you need to talk to him.”

Otabek's expression clearly showed he did _not_ know, and Yuuri sighed again, trying to break it to him gently. “I suspect he survived being thrown out of home by trading the only thing he had... himself. When you agreed to tutor him, he assumed you'd want to take payment from him the same way everyone else has.”

“Oh... oh my god...”

“When you said no, he realised he'd misread the situation and was ashamed of his assumptions... and his behaviour towards you. That's why he's hiding from you.”

“ _He's only just turned sixteen..._ that's barely an adult, by anyone's standards!”

“I know. Yuri... his family was poor, and they couldn't afford to feed him so they kicked him out. He was on his own from an early age. It's not uncommon for humans to have to do things like this, especially when they're younger and... and w-worth more. Options at that point are pretty much limited to stealing, fighting or whoring.”

“Fuck...” Otabek rubbed his hands over his face, his mind racing with a tangle of emotions. Guilt wrestled with shock and grief, and he tried not to imagine the awful things the witch must have endured. “How do I... how do I fix things between us? I've made him feel worse...”

“Like I said, you need to talk to him. Make him understand that you're not judging him, that you still want to be his friend. You're _not_ judging him, are you?”

“Of course I'm not. You know I've done far worse things to survive...”

“He might need to hear that. Suffering is a prison... it makes you think you're the only one in the world to go through bad things. Sometimes, hearing you're not can be the start of finding your freedom.”

* * *

When the weretiger knocked on Yuri's door, the witch huddled under his blankets and swore quietly to himself. For two days he'd avoided Otabek, hoping that he'd take the hint and leave him alone. Yuri burned with shame over what had happened between them, and the last thing he wanted to do was have a confrontation about it. But the other student kept trying to talk to him.

Getting no response, Otabek sighed and leaned his forehead against the door. He could smell the blonde's distress, a bitter scent that overlaid the bouquet he found himself missing more and more as each day went by. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that his feelings for the blonde weren't the pure friendship he wanted them to be... but right now, not even friendship was on the table unless he fixed things.

“I know you don't want to talk to me... so just listen, OK?”

Yuri frowned at the new tactic, knowing that covering his ears would be deeply petty. Climbing out of the bed, he crossed to the door and rested his hand against it, ready to wrench it open and scream in Otabek's face if the weretiger started insulting him. To his astonishment, what came out was a heartfelt apology.

“I'm sorry I was so harsh the other day. You... you shocked me, and I reacted badly. I didn't understand...” taking a deep breath, Otabek got to the point, hoping no one would come down the hallway while he was baring his soul through a locked door. “I thought we were friends... maybe even moving towards something more than that... I didn't understand that you... you saw the situation differently. I didn't understand what you expected from me. Yuri... the things you thought I wanted... that was _not_ my intention when I offered to help you. It's not my intention now either... but I still want to help you... and I still want to be your friend.”

For long moments there was no response, then the door unlocked and popped open. When the blonde didn't appear, Otabek carefully pushed it open all the way and found Yuri curled up under his blankets on the bed. Stepping into the room and closing the door, Otabek crossed to him slowly, trying to make sense of the silent gesture.

Sitting gingerly beside him, the weretiger stared out of the window as he organised his thoughts. “The world out there is a difficult, dangerous place, no matter who you are. Most of us have to do things to survive... things we're not proud of, things we hate ourselves for... and sometimes, in that hell, we find that some parts of it aren't all that bad. That doesn't make the suffering less, it just makes it possible to stay sane.”

The lump under the blankets stirred. “You're talking from experience?”

“When I was...” pausing, Otabek took another deep breath, grimacing at his own dark memories. “When I was alone, I spent a long time living as a tiger. It was easier... safer... there was nothing that could hurt me, and leaving my human mind behind made the p-pain go away... but I didn't have my potion, so I lived as an animal as much as possible and avoided human settlements. The only time I turned back was when I had no choice... when the full moon faded and my human form took over. There's always a few days after, when I can't change back into a tiger.”

“One winter was really bad. I was in the mountains, and there was no game... nothing at all to eat. I went for as long as I could without food... but I was starving. I was sure I was going to die... but then I came upon a trail.”

The blankets shifted as Yuri sat up, eyes fixed intently on the weretiger. Otabek's voice had become harsh with suppressed emotion, and his cheeks glimmered with silent tears as he spoke.

“It was a winter camp... the human had laid in supplies for himself and holed up in a cave to weather it out. I caught the scent of him and I... I didn't even hesitate. I... I killed him.”

Shuddering, Otabek covered Yuri's fingers as the blonde took his hand, pressing down gently against the warmth of the witch's skin. “Without the potion, when you're in animal form you don't remember being human or your human values... you just work on instincts and cunning. It's only when you change back to human shape that you can remember what you've done...”

“You... you ate him.” Yuri's voice was soft, tinged with horror but without fear. His hand tightened on Otabek's and he rested his head against his arm.

“I buried what was left, but I still took his supplies before I made my way down out of the mountains, forcing myself to stay in human form... I swore I would never do anything like that again... and not long after, I found this valley and the school. I haven't left here since.” Turning to face the blonde, Otabek twisted their fingers together as he looked down at their linked hands. “Now you know why I'll never judge you for what you've had to do. Since the day I met you, I thought we were a lot alike. I can't deny that I'm drawn to you... but I want to be your friend more than anything else. Besides” he flushed a deep red, shaking his head. “The things you thought I wanted... I've never done that with _anyone._ I... I guess I don't... I don't want to be a trophy.”

“Trophy? What do you mean?”

“Werebeasts have a... a reputation. For s-stamina and... well, bedding one is considered a... a mark of pride by some of the people here. Plus, I'm the only weretiger this school's ever seen... so I get a lot more interest than some of the others.”

“That's horrible.”

Otabek shrugged, “no one can make me do anything I don't want to do...” eyeing the blonde, he smiled. “The same applies to you, you know. If anyone tries to force you... well, you nearly set the room on fire the other day. Burning people tends to get the point across.”

“That's true” Yuri held his free hand out in front of him, remembering the sparks that had played over his fingertips. “I hadn't really thought about that...” Glancing back at the weretiger, he lowered his hand and rested his head on Otabek's shoulder, exhausted from stress and emotion. The closeness comforted him, and he shut his eyes.

“Please let me teach you how to read” Otabek murmured, trying to cope with the sensory overload from Yuri's touch. The bitterness in his scent had faded and the room was filled once more with tones of honey and winter spices. He wanted to bathe in it, roll around in Yuri's sheets until he was covered in it the way he had been during the full moon. It bemused him that he'd ever wanted to wash it away.

When he felt Yuri nod against his shoulder, he wrapped both arms around him and pulled the witch against his chest, a happy growl escaping his throat. At the embrace, Yuri pressed his face against Otabek's shirt to hide a tiny smile of relief, his heart feeling lighter than it had for days.

* * *

Phichit stretched out on his boyfriend's bed and yawned, listening to the soft breathing of the incubus hybrid dozing next to him. The djinn's punishment for failing his exams had been the same as Yuuri's – knocked down a year so no nights outside of the tower, and denied a private room. As punishments went, it seemed particularly cruel given his relationship status. The only chance he got to enjoy his partner's exquisite skills was during the day, or on the rare occasions Yuuri was able to bargain a room out of another East Tower student.

A muffled noise indicated that the demon next to him was waking up, and he smiled as he rolled over into his grasping arms. Incubus hybrids were almost as rare as weretigers, but unlike Otabek, Christophe was more than happy to be a notch on anyone's bedpost. The inferno of chemistry between a sex addicted incubus and a reality warping djinn was inevitable, it was hardly surprising that Phichit had slept through his entire Conjuration exam the previous summer, given the activities of the night before.

“I heard an interesting rumour” Phichit said to get his attention as his lover wrapped himself around him and prepared to doze off again. Christophe murmured against his throat and the djinn smiled, slipping his fingers into his boyfriend's hair. “Apparently our resident weretiger has a bit of a crush on that new student. The Legacy.”

“Is that so?”

“He's been knocking on Yuuri's door for advice about him twice this month... and he slept the whole full moon in the witch's room.”

Pushing himself up onto his elbow, Christophe looked down at the smirking djinn, a calculating expression on his beautiful face. “That is indeed interesting... what do you think of him? The witch?”

Phichit smiled, nuzzling Christophe's throat and getting a soft sigh from him in response. “He's feisty, and smart. Very pretty, as well. I like him. Yuuri's pretty much adopted him, I think.”

“I see. So Victor's also looking after him?”

“I expect so. Seems they're both Russian.”

“Hmm. Do you think JJ and I were cruel to him on his first day?”

Wrinkling his nose, Phichit shrugged. “You didn't hurt him, did you?”

“No... but then, we never _hurt_ people. You know that.”

“I...” the djinn struggled to organise his thoughts, the effects of the incubus on his libido derailing his mind as the other student slowly licked a path along his clavicle. “I... I guess not...”

“You guess not” Christophe's voice was pure velvet, his lips brushing Phichit's skin as he spoke. “You sound doubtful. Don't you trust me?”

“Of course I do...”

“Don't you love me?”

“Y-yes! Yes... but...”

“But what?”

Phichit bit his lip, struggling to remember a time before he'd met the demon currently trailing kisses over his torso. He had a vague memory of being afraid of him, of being unsure... then there was nothing but desire and the feel of soft kisses, purring words and the taste of his lips, and all reluctance disappeared. He hadn't been able to say no to him since that day.

“I don't want you to make a move on him. The witch... I-I want you to leave him alone” Phichit begged, groaning as long, talented fingers threatened to distract him completely. Christophe laughed as he caressed the younger student's thighs.

“I'm afraid I can't agree to that” he purred, settling between Phichit's knees and brushing a kiss over his hip bone. “You understand, don't you my love?”

“I...” Phichit suddenly decided he was being entirely unreasonable, as Christophe leaned up and softly captured his lips again and he tasted the sweetness of his breath. Of course his lover could have the witch, he could have anything he wanted. Who was Phichit to say no, or try to stop him? Murmuring agreement into the intoxicating kiss, the djinn's eyes slid shut and he wrapped his legs around the incubus' waist, all thoughts of his friends leaving his mind as he became lost in pleasure.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... I've made yet another AU with Christophe as a sexual predator. Why do I keep doing this to him???


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which there is developing OtaYuri! <3

“I suck at this” Yuri snarled, throwing the book across the room. Otabek sighed and retrieved it, straightening the pages and returning to his spot on the bed.

“You're doing really well” the weretiger tried to put a comforting arm around the blonde and was shrugged off.

“Don't lie to me. I know I suck. I'm an idiot.” To his surprise, the witch found himself firmly gripped by the shoulders and turned to face his tutor. Otabek glared at him, his expression equal parts serious and unimpressed.

“I will _never_ lie to you. Ever.” Yuri stared at him, his eyes wide at the tone. “When I tell you something, I mean it. You're doing well; you've picked up the bulk of the Cyrillic alphabet already and you're working through your textbooks for the start of the school year, which is a lot more than I expected this soon. The _only_ thing you suck at is taking compliments.” At that last, Otabek's lips quirked into a smile.

Yuri stared at him for a long moment, then surged forward and threw his arms around the weretigers neck, burying his head in his shoulder. Otabek murmured in surprise and pressed his nose against the mass of his pale hair, breathing in the perfume of the witch. “Come on” the older student said, his voice muffled against Yuri's scalp. “One more page, and then we'll get some dinner.”

Grumbling, Yuri eyed the embers of his fire before grabbing a thick blanket and wrapping it around them both. “Fine... but you're keeping me warm” he muttered, picking up the book and snuggling into the waiting circle of Otabek's arms.

“Start from the top, first paragraph.”

Yuri took a deep breath, glaring at the tiny print of his “Magic Theory” textbook. The Cyrillic made more sense to him now, after several weeks of teaching, but the content of the book disturbed him. The sections on witchcraft felt _too_ natural, almost familiar. As soon as he read the concepts, it was if he'd known them all along and was just reminding himself of them. He hated it. His tantrums at the reading were more based on the creeping horror that he felt every time he realised he understood where a previously incomprehensible chapter was going, than directed at the words themselves. He dreaded telling his tutor though, he felt he was enough of a freak already. The weretiger probably couldn't take much more weirdness.

“ _The four elements of magic; earth, air, fire and water. These elements form the basis of all con...conv... conventions of ritual and spell craft used by the witch..._ what does conventions mean?”

“It means the way in which things are usually done, the accepted forms. In this case, the accepted forms of ritual and spell work.”

“Fuck this.” Yuri snapped the book shut, rubbing his eyes. “Why doesn't it just say that then?”

“It did. It just used one word instead of eight. Writing books is about finding the most effective way of saying something, based on the intended readers.”

Groaning, the blonde pushed the book away, and Otabek returned it immediately to his hands. “That wasn't even half a paragraph.”

“Dinner isn't a good enough reward for this shit” Yuri snarled, and his tutor laughed.

“What do you want then?”

Eyes flashing mischievously, Yuri glanced sideways at him. Otabek had tucked him into his arms again without a thought, and he frequently rested his cheek against Yuri's hair whenever the witch was reading. His desires were crystal clear to the more experienced blonde, even if Otabek hadn't fully acknowledge them himself yet. To the witch, the weretiger's human form was as appealing as the tiger form had been a source of comfort, but Yuri sensed deep hesitation and fear within him. Otabek had claimed to be a virgin, and he thought that was probably the truth. The older student wouldn't make the first move, no matter how much sexual tension rose between them... and Yuri could feel it rising every day they'd been together.

Leaning away to make Otabek meet his eyes, Yuri bit his lip and considered his options. “A kiss” he decided, and the weretiger choked, his brown eyes becoming huge. “That's my reward for finishing this stupid page. A kiss from you, and then dinner.”

“Y-Yuri...”

“Don't pretend you hate the idea” Yuri grinned, turning back to his page. He focused, discovering that the adrenaline rush from surprising the weretiger made concentrating a bit easier. Otabek's arms were still around him beneath the blanket, and the nervous anticipation in the other student's shivering muscles gave the witch a warm, happy buzz.

“ _By combining the elements into a v... variety of forms, it is possible to create a number of effects...”_ stumbling over some of the more unfamiliar words, the blonde read steadily until he reached the bottom of the page, then closed the book with a snap and a huge sigh of relief. The instant he turned to the weretiger, he saw a bright blush on Otabek's cheeks that made him almost regret his demand. His tutor looked terrified.

“You don't have to...” Yuri's voice cut off as Otabek slipped his fingers under his jaw and pulled him into a kiss, his other arm still wrapped around the witch's waist. The weretiger's lips were soft and warm, his breath tasting of peppermint from the leaves he chewed when he was in human form. Delighted with his tutors bravery, Yuri's arms locked around his neck and he returned the kiss firmly, snaking his fingers into thick brown hair.

A single kiss turned into touch after hungry touch, lips parting and seeking each other again as they clung to each other. The release of the tension from the last few weeks drove Yuri to take the lead, pushing the weretiger onto his back on the bed and sitting astride his hips as he sought a deeper embrace. Otabek moaned as the witch's tongue rubbed against his own, their open mouths locking onto each other and their breath coming in gasps. It couldn't last, this intensity; they both felt the fierce heat fading, shifting to something sweeter and yet somehow even more enticing. Pulling back reluctantly before he started trying to take Otabek's clothes off, Yuri stared down at the shocked weretiger.

“Wow... that's one hell of a way to get me to read. What happened to 'I've never done anything with anyone'?”

“I... I haven't...”

“There's no way that was your first kiss.” Otabek flushed and looked away, and Yuri gaped at him. “Are you fucking serious?”

“I'm sorry...”

Groaning, the blonde dragged the blanket back around his shoulders and snuggled down onto Otabek's chest, the chill of the room returning as their passion faded to a simmer. He was getting tired of hearing that phrase. “What are you sorry for now?”

“I'm supposed to be your teacher... your friend... I just took advantage of you...”

Yuri snorted with laughter. “Has it ever occurred to you that you're probably the one being taken advantage of?”

It hadn't, and Otabek made a curious noise. “Why do you say that?”

“Well... you're teaching me how to read and write... you look after me... keeping me warm, keeping me company... now I've coerced you into kissing me... I'd say you were being used rather badly, wouldn't you?”

“That depends” Otabek tightened his arms around the witch, trying to avoid getting lost in his scent. He could taste it on his tongue, the intoxicating flavour still lingering on his lips. “Why did you want me to kiss you? Were you just bored of reading?”

Sarcasm was Yuri's primary form of defence when asked personal questions, but he bit it back this time and went for honesty instead. “Because I've wanted to kiss for you ages, and you weren't going to go for it without a nudge.”

“Mmm. So not just bored then.” The relief in his voice was obvious, but the weretiger was still tense beneath the blonde. “Now we've kissed, what next?”

Yuri pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking down at the older student. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to want to do it again? Or are you satisfied that you've managed to get me to do what no one else in this stupid school has?” Otabek's tone was light, but there was a great deal of pain behind his words as he broke eye contact, and Yuri knew it. He remembered what Otabek had told him about not wanting to be anyone's trophy. The blonde pressed his lips against Otabek's shoulder as he considered his answer.

“I'd like to do it again” he said, and saw the corners of his companion's lips twitch in a hastily controlled smile. “I'd like to do a lot of things with you... but I don't know what _you_ want...”

“I want you to be my boyfriend...” as the words came out of his mouth Otabek looked horrified at himself and closed his eyes in humiliation, his face catching fire in a bright flush. Yuri stared at him in astonishment.

“Do you mean that?”

“O-only if you want to... otherwise... forget I said...”

“I want to.”

“What?”

“I said, I want to. I want to be your boyfriend” Yuri paused, sinking his fingers back into his hair and leaning down for another kiss. “On one condition.”

“W-what... what condition?”

“ _Stop apologising for everything”_ Yuri growled against his lips, and the weretiger laughed helplessly.

“Sorry.”

“ _Otabek_!”

* * *

“The others will know about us.”

They'd curled up together for a while, trying to adjust to their new dynamic of _boyfriends_. As much as Yuri was eager to make full use of the implicit permission for intimate contact, he knew Otabek was far from ready for that. The older student was still in shock over his own boldness, first by initiating the kiss, then asking Yuri out. His whole body trembled as they lay together under the blanket, and the blonde knew he had to give him a lot more time.

As Otabek spoke, Yuri raised his head and looked at the weretiger curiously. “Who will?”

“The other weres. They'll be able to smell it... the closeness between us.”

“We've been spending time together for weeks, this is no different...”

“It's not just about being physically together... it's the way we feel about each other too. Me, especially.”

“What does _that_ mean?”

Otabek sighed, shaking his head. “I'm already feeling more possessive of you than I did before. I can't help it... I'm sorry!” he added as Yuri's eyes narrowed. “I know I have no right to! I don't own you... and I would never try to! But if anyone were to hurt you...”

“Lets get one thing very straight” Yuri's voice was low and forbidding, and Otabek gulped at the fury in his eyes as he looked down at the weretiger. “The day you start to fight my battles for me uninvited is the day we're _done_. Do you understand?”

“I... I do. I'm...”

Shaking his head, Yuri kissed him to cut him off, keeping eye contact as he did it. “Don't you dare say I'm sorry again” he warned, and the weretiger pulled a face.

“How do I apologise without saying I'm sorry?”

“You don't need to apologise for everything! You're so afraid of offending me... but you don't get it... if you ever do something bad enough to really upset me, no amount of apologising will fix it.”

Staring up at the irritated witch, Otabek's eyes widened as something clicked in his mind. “Before... when you stopped talking to me... you weren't angry with me?”

“He gets there in the end. No, I wasn't. I was angry at myself, and taking it out on you.”

“I see.”

Putting his head to one side, Yuri raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Do you hate me now?”

“Of course not” Otabek shrugged, “Yuuri said the same thing... I just didn't believe him.”

“Idiot” Yuri's smile was affectionate, and the weretiger slipped a hand behind his neck, pulling him down into another kiss. When their lips met he let the scent of the witch roll over him, sending sparks through his body and making his skin tingle. Unlike before when he'd been keyed up on nerves and half convinced he was about to get punched, this time Otabek let himself react as he wanted, shifting his weight and pushing Yuri onto his back on the bed. The blonde murmured happily as the weretiger rested his weight beside him, his knee sliding between the younger student's thighs.

“You can lie on me, it's OK.”

“Hah. No, I can't. I'll crush you.”

“I very much doubt it” Yuri's tone was teasing, but Otabek shook his head.

“You really want a 400lb man on top of you?”

“400... don't be stupid. You don't weigh that much, you're only two inches taller than me!”

“Yes, I do” laughing, Otabek pushed Yuri's hair away from his face so he could see the disbelief in his bright green eyes. “I'm a weretiger... you've seen how big I am in tiger form? That weight is still there... it's just turned into density instead of size when I'm like this.”

“That... that's impossible.”

“No, it's biology. Thicker bones, muscles and skin... everything's stronger.”

“I...” Yuri thought about it, trying to remember the few times he'd seen Otabek doing physical jobs like carrying wood or moving furniture in the common room. “I didn't know you were that strong. You don't seem it.”

“Ahhh... I try not to show it off. It freaks people out. I'm a lot stronger than the other weres, after all.”

“Why?”

“I'm bigger than them, so I'm more powerful. Leo's the largest of the wolves, but he's only about 200 – 225lbs in his animal form. The other two are smaller than him, and the foxes are tiny, probably no more than 150lbs. There aren't any bears here, otherwise I'd have a potential challenge.” Realising Yuri was uncharacteristically silent, he looked down at him and found the blonde staring at him with his mouth hanging open.

“ _How many of you are there?_ ”

 _“_ Only one weretiger.” Chuckling at the witch's expression, Otabek relented. “One weretiger, three werewolves and two werefoxes.”

“Holy fuck... Why haven't I seen any of the others?”

“You have... but you didn't know what they are. You'll never see them at full moon...” Otabek's eyes were suddenly full of pain. Yuri recognised the look of bitter memories and pulled him back down into his arms.

“You don't have to talk about it” he said, pressing his lips to the weretiger's shoulder. The older student nodded gratefully, resting his nose against Yuri's throat.

“I'll tell you... but not this close to full moon. It's only a few days away, and I have to keep my head clear leading up to it.”

“After” Yuri said, propping himself up on his elbow and running his fingers through Otabek's thick, dark hair. “We can talk once it's over. Will you stay here while you're a tiger?”

“If you want me to... but I'm not a tiger, I'm a weretiger.”

“You said that before... you look like a tiger, what's the big deal?”

Leaning up to kiss him and wondering at how incredibly natural it was starting to feel, Otabek gave the blonde a serious look. “You need to try and remember it. I'm not human. I'm not a tiger. No matter how I look, I'm always a weretiger. The day you forget that and treat me... or any of the weres... as just a human, or just an animal, is probably the day you'll get hurt or killed.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

By the first week of September, the wind had turned bitter and the stones of the castle developed a deep, ever present chill. The thick blankets on the beds were joined by heavy furs and the wood stores in each room were doubled. The day before the full moon, Yuri arrived back to find his door unlocked and a small student cleaning his fireplace.

Tossing his books on the bed, he turned to the unexpected visitor and put his hands on his hips. Ignoring the obviousness of his activity, he narrowed his eyes and growled a curt question. “What are you doing in here?”

The smaller boy stood up and brushed ash off his hands, huffing a short fringe out of his eyes. “I'm on housekeeping duty this month, for my sins. Unless you want to do this yourself?” he added hopefully, and Yuri pulled a face.

“Not a chance. How'd you get housekeeping?” Yuri knew the maintenance of the castle and grounds was frequently used as punishment for students who misbehaved or were lazy, as a supplement to the labour of the other creatures who lived and worked in the valley. He'd so far managed to avoid making any mistakes that would end with him having chores, but was naturally wary of unexpected pitfalls. Especially with the start of term only a week away.

“Through no fault of my own, I may have accidentally borrowed some spell components and not replaced them... or asked permission to use them in the first place.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “You're a witch?”

“Mage” the other student corrected, returning to his task as he talked. “Unfortunately I'm not allowed to use magic while being punished, otherwise this would take moments.” Sighing, he began lining the cleaned grate with fresh tinder.

“What's the difference between a mage and a warlock?”

“Warlocks use otherwordly forces to achieve their goals, usually demons or similar horrible eldritch monsters summoned, appeased or communed with during ritual. Mages have an innate power that we access to make magic, usually in order to destroy or create. We're spontaneous casters, so we don't work with ritual very much.” His description was so polished it sounded like he'd eaten a textbook. “Which makes my mistake even more stupid, really.”

“Oh.” Yuri sat back, resting his weight on his elbows. As the other boy had spoken, he felt a familiar sinking feeling of already understanding what he was going to say before he finished saying it. It made his head ache.

“You're a witch, right? What's that like?”

“It sucks.”

Staring at the blonde in surprise, the other student put his head on one side. Yuri waved a hand and made a dismissive noise.

“It doesn't suck... not really. I mean, I can set things on fire when I want to, which is kind of cool... eventually I should be able to manipulate all four base elements. There's just so much reading to do... pretty much everything else to do with witchcraft uses complicated spells. There's a lot to learn and remember. Potions, poppets, charms, amulets... it's a pain. It must be nice to just _make_ things happen. _”_

“Not really. It's all about constant control, which is exhausting. I accidentally turned my boyfriend into a sheep once... he wasn't impressed. Luckily he's used to being an animal, or he might have dumped me there and then.”

Yuri's ears perked up. “He's a were?”

“Yes...” the other student was suddenly wary, and Yuri hastily moved to reassure him, remembering Otabek's warnings.

“I didn't mean... I mean... mine is too! It's... I haven't met anyone else who... who...”

“Oh my god... you're Otabek's boyfriend!” the smaller student shot to his feet and rapidly backed away, looking terrified.

“Woah, woah” Yuri held his hands out, palms extended in a gesture of peace as he backed off. “I'm not scary... and neither is he. Seriously... don't leave!”

Reluctantly, the other boy wrapped his arms around himself and gave Yuri a sceptical, worried look. “Otabek doesn't get on with Leo” he said, and Yuri carefully sat back down, trying to avoid frightening the mage any more.

“I don't know much about it” he admitted, “but Otabek doesn't seem to dislike anyone. Why do you think they don't get on? What's your name, anyway? I'm Yuri Plisetsky.”

“Guang Hong Ji” came the reply, and the smaller boy nervously moved back to finish laying the new fire, a little calmer now Yuri had returned to sitting on the bed. “Leo is a bit of an escape artist during the full moon... Otabek's had to beat him up quite badly, more than once. He heals quickly of course, but it makes things awkward between them.”

Remembering what Otabek had said about their size difference, Yuri raised an eyebrow. “Why would he beat him up? That... that doesn't sound like Otabek...”

“To get Leo back in his cage.” Lighting the fire, Guang Hong noticed the shocked look on the witch's face and frowned. “You don't know about the Were Pit?”

* * *

The smell hit him as they moved through the tunnels, and Yuri clapped his hand over his mouth and nose, fighting not to gag at the residual scent of large carnivores and a lot of fear all confined in one place. Guang Hong looked equally nauseous, his whole body telegraphing worry. “There's no-one here at the moment” he explained, “but it still scares me... I hate it here. I don't come down unless I have to... sometimes after a bad month, I help Leo clean out his cage. It's grim, but he can't always do it alone... especially if he's recovering from an incident with Otabek...”

A huge network of basements lay under the main building of the school, most of them sealed off or disused. The door Guang Hong led them to was unlocked, and Yuri could see thick chains on both sides and huge, heavy bolts. The portal itself was wide enough to admit two abreast, and the door was made of oak nearly a foot thick. It moved easily on greased hinges, and they entered the dank, foetid space in silence.

Cages filled the room, each one a few feet away from the others and made of heavy steel bars packed tightly together. They were all the same size apart from the central one, which was colossal, the bars embedded into the floor and ceiling, more like a cell than a cage. The others were much smaller, traditional looking boxes made of metal bars with shackles in the centre of each and a depression that Yuri could see served as a water bowl.

Walking to the massive structure, he rested his fingers on the steel bars and looked in. The iron shackles were attached to the floor by chains, each link as thick as his wrist. Simple bolts held the cuffs shut, but Yuri could see the way they were designed would be impossible to open without fingers and thumbs. Each one was turned inward, meant to be slotted home by the wearer of the shackles. Horror filled his voice as he looked at the five rings of metal, one for each paw and one for the neck. “They lock themselves in?”

“And clean out the cages after the full moon, yes. There's a sluice room next door where they clean themselves up. They're in here for at least three days, it gets pretty messy.”

“What the fuck” Yuri whispered, pulling the door of the cell open and stepping into it. The bars were spaced wide enough that he could nearly slip through, and several of them were dented and damaged as if they'd been chewed. Turning to the shackles, he could see hundreds of thick, overlapping claw marks in the floor beside the rings for the paws.

“This is Otabek's cage... isn't it? He used it before he found someone to brew his potion?” Tears stood in Yuri's eyes as he shivered at the bitter cold of the damp basement. “They lock themselves in and then, what? Turn into an animal who has no idea why it's in a cage?”

“That's why Leo tries to escape” Guang Hong said, sadly. “He doesn't know why he's trapped, and he's terrified... every time.”

“This is a fucking horror show” Yuri said, sinking his fingernails into his arms as he looked around. Suddenly knowing he was going to be sick, he bolted from the room and didn't stop until he was outside in the freezing cold but blessedly fresh air. Guts heaving as he emptied his stomach, he didn't look up as Guang Hong joined him. The smaller student rubbed his back sympathetically until he staggered away from the bush he'd just thrown up in, wiping his mouth with a grimace.

“Why do they go through all this? Why not just take the fucking potion? Why subject themselves to that _nightmare_...”

“The potion is dangerous” Guang Hong said, his voice harsh with emotion. “It's _poison_ to weres... Otabek's the only one mad enough to use it! One mistake in the preparation or dose, and no more werewolf. Or weretiger, for that matter.”

* * *

After over an hour of scrubbing in the bath and throwing his clothes into the incinerator, Yuri finally felt clean enough to return to his room. The loss of his clothes grieved him as he only had a few items with him, but Guang Hong had promised to find him some more. Between the reek of the Were Pit and the splashes of vomit, he hadn't felt able to face laundering them.

Otabek found him in his pyjamas and wrapped in a thick fur blanket, knelt in front of the smouldering fire. He'd thrown several handfuls of rosemary from the kitchens onto the coals, and the scent of it made the weretiger wrinkle his nose. Sitting beside the blonde, Otabek looked at his pale, strained expression and the way he was trying to inhale the smoke from the fire, as if he needed to clear his nose of some dreadful odour.

“What happened?”

Yuri ignored his question. “Why is your potion dangerous?”

The weretiger could see that the blonde had been crying, his face still tight with grief and distress. Otabek realised this was not a good time to be evasive, or test the witch's patience.

“The main ingredient in it is highly toxic to weres. It's called aconite, Aconitum Lycoctonum to use its Latin name. Sometimes known as Wolfsbane. By using a carefully measured amount tailored to the individual, my ancestors learned how to make a potion that controls the effects of the full moon. My family have used it for generations... but it can't be made by a were. The touch of the raw plant, or even the fumes of the potion could be fatal to us. So we have to trust a witch or potion maker to do it.”

“If you take too much...”

“Then I die. Painfully. If I take too little, then when I change the transformation isn't controlled, and I become a full weretiger, devoid of my human mind. Then other people die.”

Yuri turned his head and stared at him, fresh tears slipping down his face. “I saw the basement... the Pit. The cages...”

“I didn't want you to see that” Otabek's voice was soft and full of regret, but Yuri shook his head.

“Is the risk of the potion worth it, to avoid that?”

“Yes!” There was no hesitation in his reply, but Otabek could see that Yuri wasn't convinced. “For me... yes. I grew up with the potion. I grew up knowing the feel of my tiger form with my human mind. Running through the forests with my parents, my sisters...” he stopped, his voice breaking over the words. Forcing a deep breath into his lungs, he shook his head. “Being locked in the Pit without my human mind was hell for me. Absolute hell.”

“Why don't the others take it?”

“Most of them grew up using restraints and cages to control themselves at the full moon. For them, it's normal. The potion is potentially fatal, and they have no reason to trust it.”

“Then why does Leo try to escape?”

“He grew up wild... he ran free at the full moon, trusting his pack's isolation to keep him from hurting humans. When he came here he submitted to the Pit, but he's never been able to adjust to it while he's transformed. His animal side wants to be free.”

Nodding, Yuri leaned against Otabek's shoulder, twisting their fingers together. “I met his boyfriend today. He took me there when he realised I didn't know about it... or why the other weres h-hate you.”

“They see me as a jailer” Otabek said, sadly. “I have the freedom they crave, and I make sure they stay locked up at full moon. I've become used to their anger.”

“If they just took the potion...”

“They don't trust Yuuri to make it... or anyone else for that matter... but also they fear having a human mind in an animal body. To them, that's a terrifying unknown. Some of them even believe that their wild forms are 'natural', and that the potion robs me of my birthright as a were, that it somehow lessens me. It's... it's complicated.”


	8. Chapter 8

The smell reminded Yuri of a dead animal fermented in stale beer, and he backed away from the workshop door, shaking his head. “Oh no... no way am I going in there. That _stinks_.”

“How do you think I feel?” Yuuri was stirring the cauldron in the middle of the room with a thick scarf wrapped around his nose and mouth, and some sort of leather cap over his hair. “You wanted to see me?”

“ _Why_ are you making something so disgusting smelling?”

“So you can have a fluffy tiger striped blanket to curl up with tonight. It's Otabek's potion” Yuuri added, seeing the blank look on the witch's face.

“ _He drinks that?”_

“I'm reliably informed that it smells better than it tastes” the warlock lifted the cauldron off the fire, his hands encased in heavy looking gloves. Setting it aside to cool, he began clearing up the ingredients and utensils he'd been using.

“My god...”

“Victor's not here at the moment, can I take a message?”

Yuri narrowed his eyes. “Did you just make a pun?”

“I would never” Yuuri sounded scandalised, and the witch rolled his eyes. “What do you want, anyway?”

“I need to pick your brains over some of the “Magic Theory” stuff. Otabek's able to read it, but he doesn't understand it enough to explain the warlock side to me. I got a German copy from the library” he waved the books and shrugged. “Can we go over it?”

“Sure. I'll be about another half an hour in here. I have to wait until the potion is cool before I can filter it.”

“Leave it and come back?”

Yuuri frowned. “You want me to walk away from a potion this important, in a school where half the students are creatures of chaos?”

“You think someone would tamper with it?” Yuri sounded disbelieving, but the warlock nodded.

“It's happened before. The first few times I made it, we had to abort and put Otabek back in his cage because someone messed with the ingredients. One month, the whole thing was poured away. That was when I was making it in the potions classroom... after a few times, Yakov gave me this room to use and I decided not to leave it unattended at any point in the process.”

“ _Why the fuck would anyone do that?”_

“Who knows. Otabek swears it wasn't any of the weres... he says they would never have got that close to it. So it was probably one of the demon hybrids, and who knows why they do _anything._ ”

* * *

Otabek grunted with surprise as he opened his door to the sight of both Yuri's. Taking the vial of potion from the Japanese student, he raised an eyebrow at the witch.

“OK, delivered, great! Have fun kids, see you later.” Yuuri was already disappearing down the corridor as he spoke, and they both stared after him in bafflement.

“What the heck?”

“He said I should stay with you while you take it...”

Instantly wary, Otabek shook his head. “No. No way... I'm not letting you see that.”

“See what?” Yuri folded his arms across his chest defensively, his expression settling into the steel determination Otabek had come to know and love. This time though, the weretiger groaned at the sight.

“The potion... it's... painful. I don't want you to have to watch...”

His options quickly became a choice between either making Yuri bounce off his shoulder, or allowing the witch to elbow him aside and enter the room. Sighing, Otabek caved and followed his boyfriend back inside, closing the door behind them.

“I'm not going to walk away, knowing you're suffering. I'm not that much of an asshole.” Yuri slipped his arms around Otabek's neck and kissed him softly. “I'm not that much of a coward, either.”

Otabek gave up, the closeness of the witch overpowering his reluctance. “Fine. Some ground rules though, or you can't stay.”

“Go on” the blonde's eyebrow was raised, prepared to be defiant but willing to listen. Otabek reflected that was more than anyone else in the tower ever got from the feisty witch, and fierce pride bloomed in his chest. Fighting the urge to draw Yuri into another kiss, he forced himself to focus.

“I'll be in pain _.._. so I need you to stay out of reach... if I grab you while I'm like that, I'll hurt you. I won't know it's you, and I tend to flail around quite a bit. Afterwards, I'll pass out for about twenty minutes or so. I don't expect you to stay...”

“I'll stay for as long as I can.” Yuri looked around the room, noticing the stripped down bed and the fresh jug of water. “Do you need anything?”

“Just less clothing. I get really hot, so I usually stick to underwear only.”

Yuri shook his head in disgust. “I finally get to see you properly without a shirt on, and you're going to be writhing in agony. I can't catch a break.”

Laughing, Otabek stripped down until he was just wearing his undershorts, then sat on the bed propped up on the pillows. Yuri sat next to him, running his eyes lasciviously over the weretiger's lean, muscled torso.

“Very sexy.”

“Hah. You're hilarious.”

Staring at Otabek's flushed cheeks and downcast eyes, Yuri curled his lip. “You don't think you're hot?”

“Oh yeah” the weretiger's voice was tense with sarcasm, “short and covered with scars, really attractive.”

Yuri reached out and ran a fingertip along one of the long, deep scars that littered Otabek's chest and stomach. The touch made the weretiger shiver, and he raised his eyes to watch the blonde's expression.

“I thought were-beasts healed quickly.”

“They do... but our claws and teeth cause permanent damage to most creatures... including ourselves.”

“So these are from other weres?”

“Mostly from Leo. I have a few older ones from my sisters, when we were playing as kids.”

“He has a few from you too I guess.”

“No” Otabek shook his head. “I never hurt him... I usually just cuff him around the head with my paws until he passes out, then scruff him and drag him back.”

“So you're careful not to hurt him, but he rips holes in you?” Yuri's voice was tinged with anger, but Otabek shook his head again.

“It's fine... I'm in control, and I know what I'm doing. All Leo knows is that he's fighting for his life against a gigantic predator. I don't begrudge him using every weapon he has.”

Leaning forward, Yuri pressed their lips together softly. “I'm not sure I could be that kind.”

“Well then let's hope for his sake you never have to deal with him” Otabek murmured, returning the kiss for a moment before pulling away. “I'm sorry... I need to...”

“Sure... of course. I'll see you when you wake up” Yuri rose from the bed and crossed the room, folding himself into a chair safely out of range. Grimacing, Otabek uncorked the vial and took a deep breath before draining the viscous liquid in one go.

“How long does it take to kick in?”

“Not long... usually a f-few... f-few... s-seconds...” as he set the vial on the nightstand, Otabek's hand was was already shaking and his voice broke over the words as the first muscle spasm hit. Horrified, Yuri could only clench his fists as he watched the weretiger begin to shudder and shake, reluctantly honouring his promise to stay out of reach. Writhing and gasping quickly turned into harsh panting and growls of pain as the potion settled into his system, but it took long minutes for him to finally pass out, and even more for the clenching and flailing to stop entirely.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Otabek took a slow, confused inventory of himself. Usually after taking his potion he would wake up with bruises, still shivering and clammy from fever and often on the floor. The difference this time was stark, and it took him long moments to understand why.

For a start, his skin was cool and dry, and he was lying on his bed under a light, fresh sheet. His head rested on his pillows, and he could feel a cold cloth over his forehead. The light in the room was dim, and the usual pounding headache was absent.

There was a weight on the bed beside him and he glanced down, finding a small ball of blonde curled up against his side. Yuri woke from his doze as Otabek shifted, and looked up at him with a worried smile.

“Welcome back.”

“Wh... what happened?”

“You passed out just like you said you would. I waited until you'd stopped twitching, then sponged you off and got you a sheet. You're right about the weight” he added, pulling a disgusted face, “I tried to move you onto your side and nearly busted my back.”

Bemused, Otabek pushed himself upright. “How long was I asleep?”

“About two hours. I got you to drink some water though, you were burning up.”

“Th-thank you” he pulled the witch into his arms with a sigh, resting his cheek against his shoulder. “I feel so much better than usual...”

“Good” Yuri murmured into his hair, “I thought you'd be mad at me for touching you, after what you said. I just hoped once you'd stopped flailing around you'd be safe.”

“You took a risk...”

“A calculated one. I couldn't just sit there and watch while you dehydrated and roasted in your own skin.” The witch ducked as Otabek went to kiss him and pushed a peppermint leaf into his mouth. “Don't you dare” he warned, “you still have potion breath.” As Otabek chuckled and obediently chewed his leaf, Yuri gazed at him. “So how long before you have to change form?”

“Later tonight. I usually take the potion about 2 hours before the full moon to give it time to work.”

“So I've got you as a human until then?”

“Sort of. The last few hours are usually pretty uncomfortable though... either side. My skin itches and I feel horrible. I tend to change form early and sleep it off, once the others are locked in the Pit.”

“Y-you have to help with that?”

“Yeah, I usually do. Leo locks the main door once everyone's secured and puts himself in his cage, and I lock up from the outside. After that, it's down to the wardens to look after everyone in the Pit, while I patrol the outskirts and the interior of the school to make sure no-one is trying to mess with _them_ , and pick up any escapees.”

“The wardens?”

“Castor and Pollox. They're brothers, and dragonkin, just about the only things in this school beside me that are strong enough to deal with a werebeast... at least without resorting to dangerous levels of magic. It takes both of them though, so they guard the main basement door together during the full moon.”

Yuri thought about that. “You'll miss the first day of term” he said, and Otabek nodded.

“I wanted to talk to you about that, actually. You need to be very careful once term starts. Watch your back, and stay in the tower as much as you can if you're alone.”

“Careful? What do you mean?”

Otabek bit his lip. He didn't want to scare the witch, but he was fairly sure Yuri had no idea how dangerous most of the creatures in the school really were... or how much of a target he was likely to be. “Everyone will know about you by now... your age, and that you're a Legacy. You're going to attract a lot of attention, and I won't necessarily be near enough to help you if you get in trouble.”

“Good thing I can set people on fire.”

“Not really... you can't control it well yet, can you?” Seeing Yuri's frown, he nodded. “That's what I thought. If you go too far and kill someone, even in self defence, you'll be Expelled.. and there's nothing I can do to prevent that.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Sexual assault, PTSD

“Welcome to Magical Theory.” The man striding into the room was short, balding with long strands of steel grey hair framing a rugged face. His expression was locked in a scowl, giving the impression that he'd never smiled a day in his life. Bright eyes gleamed as he surveyed the five students in his classroom, ending with a raised eyebrow as Yuri slipped in behind him and eased into his seat looking guilty. “Late on the first day of term, Mr Plisetsky?”

“Sorry, Headmaster” the blonde winced as the rest of the students stared at him. He could see Guang Hong trying not to laugh, and it occurred to him that he'd never asked what year he was in. Finding he was a repeat first year was a surprise.

“ _Sorry, Headmaster_ ” Yakov folded his arms, growling as he mimicked Yuri's reply. “Why were you late?”

Yuri winced again, then straightened up and met the old man's glare with a 300 watt look of his own. “This place is a fucking maze, and I couldn't find the classroom.”

“You've been here for nearly four months, yet you can't find what all these new students managed?” Yakov indicated a couple of new faces that Yuri remembered had only arrived a few days ago. Why was the old man arguing with him?

“They got a tour from Victor” Yuri snapped, unable to hold down his temper. Instantly he knew Yakov had trapped him, and snarled silently as the old man's eyes gleamed.

“So they got _special treatment?_ Is that what you're saying?”

“No... I mean...”

Waving his arm at the rest of the class, Yakov turned his attention away from the squirming blonde. “Mr Plisetsky has demonstrated an important point for all of you. _No-one in this school gets special treatment._ Not new students, not even Legacies. Chores, Mr Plisetsky, two hours after last bell every day for the rest of the week. Report to the kitchens after dinner.”

Yuri met the headmaster's eyes with a scowl. “Whatever, _old man._ ”

Ignoring that for the moment, Yakov turned to the board. “Open your books to chapter one and begin reading. You have an hour, after which I'll be asking you questions on the content. Reading does not require talking. Plisetsky, come here please.”

Slouching up to the desk at the front of the room, Yuri glared at Yakov as the teacher sat down. “Once again, Mr Plisetsky, we begin with an argument” the old man sighed, and Yuri felt his stomach twist. _Once again..._ of course, they'd met before. Of _course he'd known that..._ but hearing it so flatly made him feel sick. “Shall we avoid further antagonism, or would you like to proceed with enmity?”

“What... I don't... what do those words mean??”

“Your reading hasn't progressed as much as I'd hoped. No matter. Let your tutor know he needs to increase the difficulty of your materials now term has begun.” Staring at the blonde with an irritated expression, Yakov folded his arms across his chest. “My question, in rather more simplified terms, is this; do you want to continue fighting with me for the rest of your time here, or shall we try and overcome this unfortunate start?”

Utterly baffled and angry at the comments about his reading, Yuri folded his own arms and jutted his hip out aggressively. “Depends if you're going to give me any more shit” he snapped, and Yakov shook his head.

“Fighting it is then. A shame. Let me know if you decide to call a truce in the future. Until then, we'll proceed as you wish. Take your seat and catch up with the others on the chapter.”

* * *

By midday, Yuri had reached his limit of Everything. The rest of Magical theory had been tense and awkward, and despite Yakov's jibes about his reading, the questions on the chapter had been irritatingly simple yet many of the students couldn't answer. The urge to shake them or just shout out the answers had exhausted the witch, and his lips were puffed where he'd bitten them to keep quiet. He refused to give Yakov the satisfaction of his answers, especially since the old man seemed to know he _could_ answer each question.

Yuri had eventually understood the Headmaster's play when the class had kicked out, and the other students had smirked at him as he left. When he'd entered the room, they had regarded him with something close to awe, his reputation as a Legacy obviously preceding him. Yakov had effectively shattered that on the very first day, firmly setting his status as “just another student”. While part of him was relieved, the rest of him was furious at the duplicity and the insults, leaving him conflicted and upset.

After the three hour lesson had been a short break, followed by two hours of quiet study in the library. Guang Hong had been the only face he recognised, but he seemed wary of spending time with Yuri in public. Assuming it was the were thing, Yuri had been shocked to overhear a whispered conversation in the stacks between two of the other first years, describing his fight with Yakov. The consensus seemed to be that he was a troublemaker, and bets were being placed on how long he'd last at the school.

Giving up with other people entirely, Yuri buried himself in his books until lunch time, then scuttled back to the tower. To his relief, a familiar stripey form was curled up in the middle of the common room, carving out a spot for himself in front of the fire. There were other students around including his fellow first years, but Yuri didn't care. Without a word, he threw himself on the tiger and buried his face in Otabek's fur.

Chuffing softly, Otabek curled up around him and wrapped a paw over his shoulder, feeling the furious shaking as Yuri forced himself not to cry in frustration. Flicking his tail at the stares of the other students, he snuggled the witch close to him, breathing in the sour odour of stress that clung to him. After a few minutes the shaking eased off, and Yuri wriggled a bit to get more comfortable, running his hands over Otabek's ears as he began softly relating the events of his horrible morning. Empathising, the weretiger rested his massive head against Yuri's chest, unable to communicate with him any other way. The last few hours of full moon rendered him irritable and disliking physical contact, but he buried that deep and comforted the witch as best he could. They stayed like that for almost the whole lunch hour, with Yuri remembering to grab some fruit and cheese before Otabek walked him to his last class of the day.

* * *

Massive and echoing, the kitchens were a hive of activity that spread over dozens of rooms in the main building of the castle. Throughout service they were sweltering and manic, but they became quiet after dinner, with only a few people working on clean up and preparations for the next day. One of the chefs set Yuri to chopping vegetables and washing dishes, and after a few nights of detention he was considered competent enough to be left to work without supervision. Used to pitching in with the cooking and cleaning from his life before the school, the witch found the work dull but calming. Near the end of the week, he had almost forgotten Otabek's warnings about being alone outside the tower.

“So this is where they hid you away.”

The voice startled Yuri and he spun, dropping the pans he had been carrying with a clatter. Shock crawled over his skin as he faced the two south tower students who had soundlessly come into the kitchen. Belatedly registering that he was isolated, he cursed as the brunette circled around, trapping him between the damphir and his incubus partner. They both looked terrifyingly predatory and delighted at finding him alone.

“Stay away from me” Yuri managed to make his voice sound tough, squaring his shoulders as Christophe approached. Behind him, JJ was making an unnerving humming sound as he watched the demon hybrid. Their movements were synchronised, their ambush practised and effective. Backing away, Yuri felt as if he'd walked into a wall as he retreated into JJ's grasp. The damphir caught him by the shoulders and held him still as Christophe reached him, chuckling in his ear as the incubus trailed his fingertips over the exposed skin at Yuri's throat.

A flush of heat spread through Yuri's body at the touch and he whimpered as the demon's power washed over him. In moments his fear was gone, replaced by overwhelming lust for the creature in front of him. Gasping at the sensations, he barely registered the pain of JJ's fangs entering his throat as the damphir wrapped his arms around him from behind. As Christophe bent and captured his lips in a kiss that drained the energy from him as surely as JJ was draining his blood, the blonde moaned in bliss and unconsciously arched into the incubus' embrace.

As pleasure and desire flooded him, Yuri felt a familiar mental shift and his awareness separated from his body, his mind floating inside him, calm and calculating. The dissociation was automatic, a response developed over years that had saved his sanity time and time again in the clutches of clients. He flung himself into it gladly, recognising it as a source of resistance to whatever power the demon was using on him. Regaining control over his actions took a little longer but eventually he slipped one hand behind him to cradle JJ's head, using the other to cup Christophe's jaw. The incubus grinned and sank his tongue into Yuri's mouth as he thought the witch was responding to his kiss, and the blonde tightened his fingers in the damphir's hair before taking the heat running through his body and moving all of it into his hands. Without giving them any warning, he ignited his palms and flames instantly roared from his skin.

* * *

In the four months since Yuri had arrived at the school and Otabek's life had been turned upside down, one of the hardest things the weretiger had to deal with was the constant scent of the witch. The closer they got, the more prevalent it was... the only way he'd found to remove it entirely was to get at least a mile upwind from Yuri's location. Not that he _wanted_ to escape it any more; by now the scent had become a comforting weight in the back of his mind, transmitting Yuri's mood and physical state to Otabek, no matter where he was.

Since the start of term, the honey and spice bouquet had been almost permanently overlaid with bitter tones of frustration and sour notes of stress. Otabek had adjusted to that over the last week, finding it easier to control his emotional reactions to it once the full moon had waned. At first, every note of distress made him want to rush to Yuri's side, and it was only the witch's warning about trying to fight his battles for him that stilled him. Once he'd regained human form, they had developed a habit of lying together for hours in the evening as they did their homework, often curled up on Otabek's huge double bed. Yuri wasn't allowed to sleep outside of his room as a first year, so on more than one occasion Otabek had carried him back to his room after he'd dozed off in the weretiger's arms, a book across his chest. Helping the witch relax in the evenings with cuddles and soft kisses, he valued his ability to shift the scent back to the honey and spices he'd come to love.

The weretiger was playing poker with Yuuri and Phitchit in the east tower common room when that bitter scent changed sharply, becoming acrid with terror. Before he'd even mentally registered the change he was running out of the door, the instinctive shift into tiger form knocking the table over and exploding his clothes from his body as he went. Staring after him in shock as the furniture clattered around them, Phichit and Yuuri reacted a few moments later, by which time Otabek was already sprinting through the main building of the school.

When they reached the kitchens, they found the weretiger guarding the hunched form of the witch, snarling in fury at the two south tower students frantically beating out flames from their hair and clothes. Yuri was crouched in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around his head as Otabek stood his ground in front of him. As JJ and Christophe smothered the fires and backed away from the roaring tiger, Phichit took in the scene and slapped his hand against the nearest metal surface. Soundlessly, the metal _flowed_ under the influence of the djinn's magic, snaking across the floor and encasing the two predators in a cage made of steel bars.

As soon as he'd secured the pair, Phichit spun on his heel and walked out of the kitchen, muttering about fetching a teacher. Yuuri, who'd seen the tears in his eyes as he'd realised what his boyfriend had done, nodded curt understanding and placed himself in the doorway, preventing the curiosity of the students who'd followed the charging weretiger. Ordering them back to their towers with the borrowed authority of the sub-prefect, Yuuri stood watch until Phichit returned with a furious Celestino in his wake.

While the older damphir took control of the situation, Otabek turned his attention to Yuri, approaching the witch carefully and nudging his hands, gauging if the blonde would tolerate being touched. When he met no resistance, he pressed his nose against Yuri's scalp, chuffing low and comfortingly until the blonde uncoiled and wrapped his arms around his neck. Lying beside him, Otabek could feel Yuri shaking with shock, dry eyed and numb as he held on to the tiger. Once the quivering reduced a little, the weretiger disengaged carefully and changed shape, requesting clothing from Phichit as soon as he could talk.

With an unpleasant sneer, Phichit reached into the cage and grabbed the charred remains of JJ and Christophe's clothing, warping the fabric until he had created pants and shirt around Otabek's body. His work stripped both of the south tower students to their underwear, and he quickly stepped back out of range of the incubus' skin, wary of the latent power of his touch. While the damphir had healed from his injuries quickly, the demon hybrid had no such regenerative powers and the removal of his shirt revealed the extent of his burns. From his forehead to his waist, his right hand side was badly damaged and he wheezed in pain, the bars of the cage the only thing holding him upright.

Shuddering from the experience of being sewn into clothes by the djinn's powers, Otabek straightened and picked Yuri up. Carrying him pressed against his chest like a child, he stalked out of the room, with Yuuri striding in front of him like a vanguard of barely repressed fury. The warlock's eyes were gleaming with an unhealthy green light, and his hands twitched at his sides as if he were itching to unleash pure hell on somebody. The few remaining students scattered at the sight of them stalking through the corridors to the tower.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: references to torture, sexual assault and PTSD

Settling Yuri carefully on his bed, the weretiger grabbed the room's first aid kit and busied himself with dressing the bite wound on his neck, carefully checking for any other injuries. The blonde was silent and vacant, his body limp as Otabek removed his shoes and wrapped him in thick furs. Recognising the signs of shock, the older student lay beside him on the outside of the sheets and gently held him close, letting his excess of body heat keep the witch warm. Wondering if physical contact might be distressing given what had happened, he lay with his hands open and palms up, keeping a wall of blankets between them while he monitored his boyfriend's state, murmuring to him to keep him awake.

Yuuri and Victor appeared after a while, the head prefect's normally cheerful face locked in an ugly scowl. They talked quietly, passing on the message that Christophe and JJ had been locked in the were-pit until the morning, when Yakov would decide what to do with them. Assaulting a student wasn't ground for Expulsion, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take very serious action. Yuri was the first person who hadn't been swayed by Christophe's powers enough to protect the incubus after the fact, and it was well known that Celestino had been waiting for years to finally get something he could use against the pair.

Once they'd gone, Otabek felt Yuri was stable enough to be allowed to sleep, and prepared to leave the bed. His plan was to take tiger form and sleep in front of the door, preventing anyone from getting near the witch while giving Yuri space, but the moment he tried to move Yuri clutched his shirt and pulled him back down, shaking his head with his eyes closed. Understanding, Otabek let him curl up against him, dragging a spare fur over himself to fight back the cold. Expecting the blonde to fall asleep, he was surprised when Yuri began to speak.

“There was a client at the brothel where I worked... he liked the women, but every now and then he'd pay extra for one of the men... he'd fuck us, then take his belt to us afterwards. It was like he hated the fact that he got excited by guys, so he punished us. As long as he didn't touch our faces, our owner was fine with it... he paid enough for one of us to be out of commission for a few days. He was rich, and spent so much on girls that he was allowed weird quirks.”

His voice was dull and lifeless, and he was speaking with his eyes closed, but Yuri's hands clenched convulsively as he spoke. Otabek held him as tightly as he dared, stifling his urge to roar in helpless rage at the words.

“One day, after he'd finished beating me, he tied my hands behind my back and pinned me down then took a knife out. He told me he'd paid twice what I would make in a year to be allowed to do whatever he wanted to me... that I was getting too old for the majority of my clients... they liked the young boys, and the owner had already found a replacement for me. He already had two adult men in the brothel, he didn't need a third... I realised the client had paid to be allowed to torture and kill me.”

Silently, Otabek buried his face into the pillow to hide the tears pouring down his face, keeping his body as still as he could to disguise his shaking sobs. Yuri was still speaking in that horrible dull monotone, but his twitching was beginning to subside and his eyes were open, staring at nothing.

“He cut me a few times. He wanted to do it slow I suppose. The pain was worse than anything I'd ever felt before, and my whole body got hot... too hot, it felt like I was going to explode. I was struggling, trying to get my hands free... the next thing I knew, the ropes were burnt through and I could move. I grabbed him to push him off me, and as I touched him he... _he caught fire_.”

Yuri's voice broke, emotion creeping out of him and tears filling his eyes. Burying his face in his hands, he began to sob helplessly, a harsh keening coming from his lips. Unable to do anything but hold him, Otabek silently rocked him in his arms as he gasped out the rest of the story; how he'd left the dying man burning on the floor and fled the brothel, how the cry had gone up that there was a murderer on the loose and Yuri had been forced to run from the only place he'd ever known, in fear for his life. How after several weeks of hiding in the countryside, stealing from farms and sleeping under bushes, he'd been sure he was going to die of exposure and starvation... until Celestino found him, and brought him to Illforte.

By the end, Yuri cried himself into a light doze, and Otabek risked moving. Lighting the fire helped him clear his mind, and once the room was warm enough he stripped out of the conjured garments, tossing them onto the logs. They had been made from the clothes worn by Christophe and JJ, and the sight and feel of them made him feel sick. Naked, he washed the tears from his face and then changed form, curling up next to Yuri on the bed to provide maximum warmth and comfort. At the feel of fur under his fingers, the dozing witch gave a huge sigh of relief and wriggled into his belly, immediately falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Celestino and Yakov visited the tower the next day, both of them looking like thunderclouds. Yuri had declined to leave his room, so Otabek fetched him breakfast in bed. The witch was pale and still weak from blood loss and the energy drain from the incubus, as well as the shock of the attack. Otabek was more than happy to wait on him, and spent most of his morning sat up against the pillows, catching up on some reading while the blonde dozed fitfully.

When the two teachers arrived, Otabek gently nudged the witch awake and gave the pair a hard look. “Why do you two look so stern?”

Sitting up and pulling the covers around himself, Yuri gazed at them with a sinking feeling. As Celestino spoke, he bit his lip and let Otabek fold him into his arms.

“I don't know how to tell you this, but Giacometti got free last night. There were signs of tampering in the pit. He's gone... he's nowhere in the castle, and Leroy was found unconscious. The damphir claims not to know anything about the escape, and I don't think he's lying. We'll investigate, of course.”

“Someone broke him out?” Yuri's voice was dull, and Yakov sighed.

“It looks like it. Possibly someone from his tower... there were traces of demonic magic, nothing a human could wield.”

“Permission to hunt him down with extreme prejudice?” Otabek snarled the request and Yuri tightened his grip on his arm gratefully, but Yakov shook his head.

“Denied” he said, then raised his hands to ward off an argument. “He's gone, Altin, and he won't be coming back. His burns were bad; if he survives out there I'll be very surprised... but even if he does, he's never getting within twelve miles of this school again.”

Otabek blinked at the very specific distance. “You've warded against him?” Beside him, Yuri looked shocked, aware from his Magic Theory lessons of how much power and resources creating or altering the permanent wards around the school required.

“The school has a policy of open admittance to anyone. Those with a dangerous history or lineage are accepted as long as they sign the Charter” Yakov said, his expression bleak. “However, the teachers have agreed to review that policy with regards to certain demonic lineages. The new ward is against anything with incubus or succubus heritage... they've proven themselves too dangerous to be tolerated.”

Yuri nodded, but to his astonishment Otabek growled angrily. “You've know that _for years_ ” he hissed, and the blonde could feel invisible hackles rising from the weretiger. “You've had countless complaints about him...”

“All withdrawn after the fact”

“Yuuri's wasn't!”

Blinking, Yuri stared at his boyfriend. “He... he did something to Yuuri?”

“A few years ago” Yakov nodded, “but the young warlock couldn't provide any evidence. This time, they were caught red-handed, as it were.”

“So you've been waiting for the chance to catch them, even if that means other students get hurt?” Otabek's voice was tipping over into outright hostility, and Yuri could see Celestino bristling at the tone. Placing a hand on the weretiger's arm, he softly murmured a soothing admonishment.

“They know it's bad” he said, and Otabek growled in protest, shaking his head. “I know you can't understand, but it's OK. _I'm_ OK. They're doing something about it now.... but they can't undo the past. _It's OK._ ”

“How can it be” Otabek's voice broke a little and he tucked his head against Yuri's shoulder, shivering as he fought back painful emotions. Sighing, Yuri made a grateful gesture at the teachers and they withdrew politely, closing the door behind them. Turning to the trembling weretiger, he ran his fingers through Otabek's thick brown hair.

“You saved me.”

“Of course I didn't... you'd already...”

“I was out of it, and Yuuri said JJ was already healing from the burns. If you hadn't come, who knows what he would have done in retaliation. You _saved_ me, Otabek. _That's_ why it's OK... you protected me, and they're protecting everyone now. No-one...” his voice caught and he paused for a moment, fighting back fresh tears. He was fed up with crying. “No-one's ever saved me before. Ever.”

“I'll do anything for you” Otabek sighed, resting his nose against Yuri's throat and inhaling his scent. The honey and spice was faint, tinged with blood from his wound, and Otabek could tell how exhausted he was. “Sleep, Yuri. Rest. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again.”

“Don't make promises you can't keep” the witch murmured, letting Otabek tuck him back into the sheets. “I'll settle for a promise that you'll always _try_ to save me, and dinner in bed.”

“Deal” the weretiger stood up and crossed to the door. “Should I shut you in while I'm downstairs?”

“Yes, please” Yuri nodded, eyes already slipping closed. He was asleep before Otabek pulled the door shut behind him, locking him in safely until his return.

To Otabek's surprise, there was a small group in the common room waiting for him when he arrived downstairs in search of their dinner. Eyeing the assembled students, he tilted his head curiously at Yuuri.

“Is it true Christophe's gone?” the warlock asked. Wondering about the efficiency of the school grapevine, Otabek nodded, watching Phichit slump in relief. Yuuri rubbed his shoulder in sympathy. “Will he be coming back?”

“Yakov doesn't plan to let that happen.”

Nodding at the other students, most of which Otabek knew had previously retracted complaints about the incubus, Yuuri made an oddly elaborate bowing gesture. He spoke in Japanese, then translated to German. “Thank you for protecting Yuri” he said, his tones formal.

“I don't understand...”

“No-one else will have to go through what we did” Phichit said, his voice thick with emotion. The weretiger looked sharply at the djinn, realising belatedly that his scent was different... lighter, and lacking the musky undertone that he'd carried since becoming involved with the incubus. His eyes seemed brighter as well, as if a veil had been removed from them. As the group broke up, talking amongst themselves, Otabek turned to the warlock.

“Christophe's influence...”

“Has worn off” Yuuri indicated his retreating roommate with a nod. “I'm giving a few of them a potion to reduce the withdrawal, they should be clean within a few days.”

Shocked at the number of students gathered, the weretiger shook his head. “How many did he hurt...”

“Too many” Yuuri's voice was soft, but Otabek could hear the steel in it. “Tell Yuri I understand if he doesn't, but I'll be around if he wants to talk.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is full of feels... may break a few of you <3 I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

“Otabek wants to go after Christophe.”

Yuuri glanced up from stirring the potion base. The blonde was leaning against the door frame, one hand over his nose pre-emptively. Making an amused gesture, the warlock beckoned Yuri in.

“It won't start to stink until I add the aconite. Make yourself useful and chop that lavender for me? A fine dice, please.”

Doing as he was asked, Yuri eyed the other ingredients laid out on the bench. He recognised the camomile and lavender, and assumed the tiny metal tin contained the aconite. “Is that made of silver?”

“To make sure the weres don't handle it by accident. Silver would only burn them, the herb inside would kill. Most demons can't touch silver either, so it's doubly useful.” Setting his ladle aside, Yuuri began to grind the camomile in a pestle. “Christophe vanished weeks ago, he'll never find him.”

“He thinks he can at full moon... something about his senses being sharper. He says he can still smell him in the castle, although it's fading. If he waits any longer, he'll lose the trail.”

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Yuuri looked at the witch. “You're worried he won't be able to beat Christophe in a fight? He's immune to his incubus stink, he'll be fine.”

“I know that! But Yakov ordered him not to track him.”

Blanching, Yuuri shook his head. “Wait, he _what?_ Otabek's thinking of leaving the grounds _without permission_?”

“Exactly. Bad. He'll get in real trouble when he gets back.”

Yuuri shook his head again violently. “Trouble don't come close! That's a violation of the Charter... that means Expulsion!”

Frowning, Yuri assessed the horror on the warlock's face. “So he'd be punished for leaving the school by... having to leave the school?”

“Leave the... what? Wait, you don't _know? How are you constantly so blind to things?”_

“Blame Otabek for never letting me leave the tower” the witch snapped, chopping his herbs more aggressively than needed. He was being vastly unfair, and he knew it, but Yuuri's tone irked him.

“More like 'blame you for hating talking to people'. I need to remember that if _I_ haven't told you, you probably don't know.” The warlock sighed, returning to stirring the cauldron. “Help me finish this, then we're going to go for a little walk before we deliver it to your boyfriend.”

* * *

“The school was built in the valley because it was sheltered and well hidden, but when the founders began to quarry for the stone, they discovered an unexpected bonus.”

Yuuri was carrying a small, green orb that glowed between his fingers, and as they entered the basements he tossed it into the air. It bobbed along in front of them as they walked past the turning to the Were Pits, illuminating locked doors and echoing staircases leading down. The warlock led the way to the far end of the corridor, somewhere beneath the very outskirts of the school building, and indicated a rougher hewn stair. Yuri could smell damp here more prominently, and raised an eyebrow as they descended into natural caverns.

“The story goes that they quarried into the beginning of a cave system, and discovered that the head of the valley was sat atop a huge underground river. One of the founders got the idea of connecting it to the quarry once they'd finished building the castle, and created the lake above us.”

The path curved downwards and eventually began to branch off in all different directions. Pausing to get his bearings, Yuuri ran his fingers over some carvings on the wall. “Everything is signposted using these marks. It's too easy to get lost down here... the warlocks get called in to find missing people, as the water makes it difficult for weres to track by scent. It's this way” he added, leading them down a narrow path that felt warmer and drier the farther in they ventured. A strange, eerie wailing sound began to reach them, and the warlock's face locked into a grimace.

“What are we doing here?” Yuri tugged his jacket off at the warmth, then froze as they stepped into a vast, manmade hall carved from the rock. The sound was much louder, and as the glowing orb floated into the room and hung in the air, the witch could see what was making it. Shuddering with horror, he backed away until Yuuri caught his wrist.

“Don't run. You need to see it... to _understand_ it.”

The hall was lined with hundreds of shelves, each towering over twelve feet high and two feet thick. Divided into one foot square boxes, the shelves were filled with glass cubes, most of which were empty... waiting to be filled.

Nearest the door, the cubes were labelled and full, and the desolate wailing was coming from them. Approaching the nearest one with a detached horror, Yuri peered at the head inside the glass case. Even as he heard the warlock's warning, the eyes flicked open and the mouth cracked, keening and wailing as Yuri leaped away and crashed into his friend.

“ _What the fuck._ ”

“It's a spell” Yuuri righted the witch and led him along another row towards a circle in the middle of the hall, which was radiating the vast heat in the room. “The Greater Incantation of Soul Expulsion. It's the punishment for murder.”

“ _They kill people???”_

“No” Yuuri shivered and pointed to the elaborate sigils on the floor. “This is a warlock spell, designed to trap the soul in a body part which can then be removed and hidden away. It was originally designed to let the warlock escape death, but the founders... adapted it.”

“Then the heads...”

“Are still alive. Preserved using another spell, The Evocation of Immortality of Matter.”

“This is...”

“Monstrous, I know. The thing is” Yuuri wrapped his arms around himself, looking around at the shelves, “the founders realised they couldn't just kick dangerous magical beings out into the world, especially after training them in the school to be _more_ powerful. They felt they couldn't justify destroying them, so they came up with this as a solution.”

“Otabek hasn't killed anyone...”

“Yes, he has. Not here, I know. But he signed the Charter.”

“You said that before... what's the Charter?”

“The school accepts anyone” Yuuri beckoned and they headed back out of the hall, unable to stand the noise from the shelves any more. “If a student has committed murder before they arrive here, they are still offered a place, but they have to sign a Charter to promise to abide by the three cardinal rules under threat of Expulsion if they don't. It's sort of like you get fewer chances to misbehave if you're already a killer.”

“Cardinal rules...”

Yuuri ticked off on his fingers as he spoke. “Rule One: Remain on school grounds unless given express permission to leave. Rule Two: Towers are off limits without expression permission... that's usually initially only given for just _your_ tower, if you're a Charter student. Rule Three: Do not harm, or allow to come to harm, any person within the school grounds. That one's to protect the staff and any visitors. That's the one Christophe and JJ are now facing... before you, the lack of evidence and the retraction of complaints meant no 'harm' had been done or allowed to be done.” Yuuri's voice was bitter, and the witch chewed his lip.

“Otabek said you...”

“It was a long time ago. Victor dealt with it privately, because Yakov couldn't act... it's why Phichit was put in my room.” Yuuri shrugged, uncomfortable with the line of conversation. “Yakov hoped Christophe would be too scared to go near him while he was under my watch... but he underestimated the power of an incubus.”

Backing off understandingly, Yuri changed the subject. “So how do they know who's killed people before?” As Yuuri opened his mouth, the witch raised a hand. “Let me guess, It's A Spell?”

“The Conjuration of Spilled Blood. It makes your skin glow red if you've ever taken a life, directly or indirectly.”

Yuri stopped dead, his skin crawling. “They did that to me... when I got here, Yakov made me sit in a circle and cast a bunch of different spells on me. One of them made my tongue ache, the other turned my skin red for a minute. I was totally freaked out...”

“The ache was your Untainted Tongue enchantment” Yuuri folded his arms, his head on one side. “So you've signed the Charter too? Welcome to the club.”

“No... I didn't sign anything” Yuri murmured, baffled. The two stared at each other in confusion for long moments, before soft echoes of wailing reached their ears again and they hurried for the exit back to the main school.

* * *

Yuri strode into Otabek's room as soon as the weretiger opened the door, his expression bleak. Holding Otabek's potion vial tightly in one hand, he curled his lip aggressively.

“You have two choices.”

Otabek folded his arms, expression carefully neutral as he surveyed the angry witch. The potion bottle was clearly being held to ransom, he could see sparks playing across Yuri's fingers. Whatever had riled the witch was bad enough to threaten Otabek with the Were Pits for the full moon. Torn between fury at the hostage situation and respect for Yuri's stubbornness, he raised an eyebrow.

“Either you promise me you will not go after Christophe _at all_ , or you spend the next three days in a cage.”

“What's this all about” Otabek demanded, unable to prevent a note of anger from entering his voice. Yuri blanched at the tone, but held his ground.

“If you breach the Charter by leaving the school, you'll be Expelled.”

“That's my risk to take.”

“Like hell it is!” Yuri nearly screamed at him. “You'd be doing it _because of me._ You think I'm willing to have that on my conscience? No. Absolutely fucking not. _You won't end up a head in a jar for my sake!”_

Growling softly, Otabek advanced towards the witch. “So what, you're going to control me? Manipulate me by holding my potion hostage? Is _this_ what our relationship is? I do what you say, or you lock me in a cage?”

Yuri froze, horrified at his words. His eyes filled with tears as he watched the anger playing over his boyfriend's face, and the reality of what he was doing struck him. Disgusted with himself, he set the potion bottle on the bed, turning away from Otabek and walking towards the door, his whole body shaking.

“Now you're running away?”

Stopping with his hand on the door frame, Yuri hunched in on himself. “I...”

“No more silent treatment” Otabek sat on his bed, holding the potion bottle between his fingers. “ _Talk_ , Yuri. Tell me what's going on in your head...”

“How could I do that to you...” Yuri's voice was soft, the pain in it almost unbearable. The weretiger steeled his heart, folding his arms and waiting for him to finish. “After everything you've done for me... all I thought about was what I wanted, I didn't even... it never occurred to me that I was m-manipulating y-you...”

As his voice broke and tears began to fall, Otabek sighed and crossed to him, pulling him into his arms. “Promise me you won't do it again” he murmured, and Yuri shook his head violently.

“Never! I s-swear...”

“Then I forgive you.”

Yuri stared up at him with huge eyes. “You... you what?”

“I forgive you. Why are you surprised that I would say that?”

“I f-fucked up... I...”

“I'm not stupid, Yura. I know that most of the time you live on the outside of your skin, and you're driven by emotion. Making mistakes is part of that, and I... I love you for it. You understand now that you hurt me, and you promised you won't do it again. Of course I forgive you.”

“You... you love me?”

Otabek snorted with laughter, pressing his nose against Yuri's scalp as the blonde clung to him. “That's the bit you take away from all of this?”

“It's the most important bit” the witch's voice was muffled by Otabek's shirt, and the weretiger could feel tears soaking through to his skin.

“Probably true. Yes, I love you. I don't expect you to say it...”

“I... there's so much... everything's just...”

Hushing him, Otabek led them back to the bed and sat down. “I need to take my potion” he brushed blonde hair out of Yuri's eyes and kissed him softly. “Will you look after me again?”

“Of course” the witch nodded and returned the kiss, his tears giving the touch a tang of salt. “There's no getting rid of me.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sengchuchu!! <3 One of my favourite Phichit pairings :) 
> 
> Plus a bit more info about the school and the other students...

October arrived with a biting wind and drifts of snow six feet deep. Otabek returned from his patrols that full moon with fur covered in painful, snowy lumps, and Yuri spent several hours in the bathroom each night bathing him in warm water to help remove them. Discovering that the weretiger loved water led to great amusement as he splashed around, blowing bubbles in the tub, slamming his paws into the water to send waves over the blonde, and clogging the drains with fur. Drying him finished the job of soaking Yuri to the skin from the frequent shakes of his thick pelt, and the hysterical laughter of the witch joined with Otabek's loud roars and chuffs as they played, deliberately ignoring the irritated glances of the other students trying to use the washroom.

In November, the cold reached 27 degrees fahrenheit and the lake froze, driving some of the usually aquatic humanoids into the castle for the winter, so the east tower first years found themselves drafted into delivering potions to help keep the students hydrated while they had to be on land. It was Yuri's first venture into any of the other towers and he found himself accompanied by Phichit, who was on an errand to fix some of the piping that kept the various baths in the castle supplied with water.

West tower was dark and quiet, with a noticeable lack of lamps and the constant drip of water. Instead, there were patches of glowing moss and luminescent pools dotted throughout. Unlike east tower, there didn't seem to be a common room anywhere, and the first large space they came to comprised of a set of stairs leading down towards what Yuri recognised as part of the natural cavern system. Lake weed grew everywhere, helping to maintain the constant humidity in the tower.

Exploring the ground floor, they searched for a sub-prefect or anyone who could direct them. Coming across a number of students, each attempt to communicate was met with blank stares and a quick exit. The west tower inhabitants seemed to be skittish, and Phichit wondered aloud if they could speak human languages at all.

“Air talking is hard. Why are you here?”

Startled, they turned to see a small pack of the students they'd spoken to clustered around a short, Asian looking humanoid. His features were delicate and he was wearing a simple black robe, but his feet were bare and he walked towards them as if he were gliding across the slick floor. Yuri, who had stumbled more than once already, threw him an envious look.

“Hydration potions, and I understand you need some pipes fixing?” Phichit turned a thousand watt smile on the newcomer, and Yuri re-evaluated the other student as he sneered in response. The expression transformed him from pretty to stunning, and the blonde chuckled as he saw the sudden hunger in his companion's eyes.

“I'll leave these with you” he said, foisting the potion box on the weakly protesting djinn and scampering away. “Have fun!”

“Yuri! Damn it... ah, where do you want these?” Phichit grunted as the other student took the heavy box effortlessly, tucking it under one arm and waving away the curious crowd. Leading the djinn back through to the first room in the tower, he ran his eyes over him.

“Do you get hot?”

“W-what?”

Indicating the stairs, the other student tried to explain. “Pipes... hot. Air, hot. Water hot. You... can you be hot?”

Understanding, Phichit smiled at the implicit concern for his safety. “Heat is fine, cold less fun. I'll cope though, don't worry.”

Frowning as if he barely understood the enthusiastic response, the other student shrugged and headed down the stairs. Following him, Phichit found himself in a complex of caverns, each of which contained a large pool and a small seating area. Some of the pools were clearly shallow, others had a dark look that spoke of depth and pressure. They were different temperatures, some steaming while others had ice floating on the edges.

“How... how do you do this?” Phichit raised a hand to the door of an icy room and felt resistance.

“Magic” the other student said, shrugging again. “Our” he uttered an incomprehensible sound and Phichit felt a shiver run down his spine at the offkey pitch “you would say... mages? Make spells, keep in heat or cold. Walk through” he pushed his hand through the doorway to demonstrate, held it inside for a few seconds then removed it and pressed his fingertips against Phichit's cheek. The unexpected touch made the djinn jump more than the chill from his skin, but the other student didn't seem to mind his reaction.

“That's amazing... I've never seen spellwork like it.”

“Water is cold and big. This... others can live here.”

“People need different temperatures to be comfortable?”

“That.”

Impressed, Phichit followed his guide through the maze, certain after a few turns that he would never find his way out without help. The caverns spiralled further down, until the djinn suspected they were underneath the lake properly. Leading him to a much larger room, the sub-prefect gestured inside.

“Pipes.”

Staring at the elaborate pipework that clad the walls and floor of the room, Phichit made a small noise of distress. Water cascaded from the source of the problem, shattered copper tubing that seemed to have been mended at least once already by more basic, human means. The water was clearly scalding hot, and the djinn wrinkled his nose. The damp of the tower was starting to frizz his hair, getting burned would be the final straw.

“Who fixed this before?”

The other student shrugged. “It was ago.”

“Before you came here?”

“That.”

Eyeing the damaged pipes, Phichit rubbed his hands over his arms, disliking the clammy feel of his skin. Naturally inclined to a desert lifestyle, the atmosphere of the tower had been invigorating at first, but was beginning to wear thin.

“Do you have more pipe?”

Disappearing for a moment, the sub-prefect brought him several lengths of copper, all different widths. Something struck Phichit as he took them, and he chided himself mentally for being rude.

“What's your name, by the way? I'm Phichit.”

“Seung-gil. You are human?”

The bluntness of the other student's manner and way of talking amused him, and Phichit smiled as he shook his head. “Half human. Half djinn.”

“What is?”

“I'll show you.” Turning back to the wall, Phichit considered his options then ran his hand along a section of the existing pipe. Stopping the flow of water was a temporary fix, it wouldn't be long before it found another weak section to exploit. He had to work quickly.

Seung-gil gaped as the broken pipe sealed itself obediently, blocking the flow of water and making the entire structure groan under the sudden pressure. Moving fast, Phichit eased the new pipes into place, joining them seamlessly with his fingertips until he had completely filled the hole with gleaming new metal. The remains of the previous patches fell to the floor as he worked to repair not just the broken section but as many of the other patched areas as he could see. It was only when he connected the final pipe and the water began to flow properly that he reflected he should have left _some_ damaged bits, just so he'd have an excuse to see Seung-gil again.

“How... how...”

“Magic” Phichit laughed, and the other student curled his lip. Grabbing some of the pieces of scrap, Phichit considered for a moment and then moved his hands, fashioning a small statue out of the metal. Handing it to the stunned sub-prefect with a grin, he pointed at the scowl on the statue's face. “It's you” he explained.

“No.” Seung-gil raised the little figure and pointed. “No tail.”

“You... you have a tail?”

“In water. Not on dry water.”

Phichit took a moment to process that and then gaped. “ _You're a merman!”_ he exclaimed, and Seung-gil shrugged. “C-can you show me? So I can change the statue” he added, flushing wildly. The other student gave him a curious look, then shrugged again.

“Come.”

They made their way into a smaller room containing a pool lit with bioluminescent rocks. Phichit stared into the water, watching tiny fish flitting about in the shallow end. A rustle got his attention and he saw a flash of very pale skin as the other student stripped out of his robe, then Seung-gil dived head first into the deep end of the pool, entering the water with barely a ripple. The fish fled as the merman surfaced and swam over to where Phichit was standing.

Crouching down, Phichit stared at the other student in wordless appreciation. In the water, Seung-gil's pale skin was pearlescent and his eyes shifted from black to a deep purple. His hair was plastered to his skull, making him seem even more delicately porcelain. Below the ripple of strong stomach muscles, silver scales descended into a long, frilled tail. Phichit was instantly reminded of the Beta fish Yuuri had conjured for him as a moving in present at the start of the year.

“You're _beautiful_ ”

Seung-gil shrugged, and Phichit laughed out loud. Retrieving the statue, he quickly changed the robes and legs into the glorious tail and fins of the merman's true form. Passing the statue over, he smiled as the sub-prefect nodded and patted it approvingly.

“Do you hate water?”

The question took Phichit by surprise, and he stared at Seung-gil for a moment, trying to understand the context. “No?”

“Swim?”

Gaping, Phichit looked around at the empty room. “Am I allowed?”

“If with me.”

Grinning, the djinn backed away and stripped out of his clothes, piling them out of range of potential splashes. Leaving his undershorts on, he walked carefully to the edge of the pool, trying not to slip on the wet stone. Swimming and bathing had always been an exotic luxury to him, he didn't need to be asked twice.

“No clothes.”

“Is that a rule, or do you just want to see me naked?”

The merman shrugged, flicking his tail so that water sloshed over Phichit's feet. “No clothes” he repeated, and the other student laughed. Flinging his undershorts in the direction of the pile, he eased himself into the warm water with a murmur of pleasure.

“No tail” Seung-gil looked mildly disapproving, and Phichit shook his head.

“Do you hate it?”

“No. You will swim slowly.”

Laughing, Phichit kicked his legs a little, getting the feel for the water. “I can't actually swim very well” he admitted, and Seung-gil looked scandalised.

“Why?”

“I grew up in the desert. No water” he added, noting the look of confusion. The merman's expression became horrified at the concept, and Phichit smiled. “I like water” he said, “but not cold and damp. Weird, I know.”

Shaking his head, Seung-gil gave him an oddly shy look. “See the tower?”

“The... what do you mean? Isn't _this_ the tower?”

“Mmm... not. More below.”

“Below... below the water?”

“That.”

Phichit frowned. “I can't breathe under water” he explained, and Seung-gil shrugged.

“If with me.”

“Like a spell or something?”

“That.”

Shivering despite the temperature, Phichit eyed the merman. “You're not planning to drag me under and eat me, are you? I've heard stories about merpeople...” To his surprise, Seung-gil laughed out loud.

“Eat fish, not Phichits. Sometimes drown others... but not here.”

“Well that's... reassuring? OK, what do I have to do?”

“Here” Seung-gil swam to the deeper part of the pool and beckoned, watching with amusement as Phichit dog-paddled his way across. “Slow” he chastised, and the djinn splashed water at him.

“What now?”

“Dive. No breath.”

“I can't take a breath?”

“No. Empty lungs.”

Biting his lip for a moment, Phichit deliberately exhaled and then clumsily dove under the water. Instantly he felt panic as his brain began to starve of oxygen, and then Seung-gil was in front of him. Gripping his jaw firmly, the merman pulled him into a kiss, parting Phichit's lips with his tongue without hesitation. Lost in the unexpected, yet delightful sensations and tastes, it took the djinn a few moments to realise he could breathe.

It wasn't quite breathing though, more like his lungs and throat had filled with water yet he wasn't drowning. Panic seized him and he flailed wildly, and Seung-gil clasped him in his arms and drew him further under the water. When the merman spoke, it was as if he were whispering in his ear.

“Be calm. Your body is adjusting to the air inside the water. It's a spell, sort of.”

Phichit opened his mouth to speak and Seung-gil winced, making a 'softer' gesture. Modulating the volume down to a murmur, he realised a great many letters in his words required movement of his mouth that he couldn't master with a throat full of water. Shrugging, he wrapped his arms around Seung-gil's neck to stop himself floating upwards, buoyed by his body's natural inclination to float.

“Water talking hard.”

Seung-gil laughed and nodded. “Can you swim down?”

“No!”

Laughing again, the merman eased Phichit's grip around so he was flush against his back, then flicked his tail. “Hold on tight” he advised, before diving towards the deepest part of the pool. Gasping, Phichit locked his hands around his own wrists against the drag of the water. The speed of their descent was thrilling, and in moments he realised he could see a green glow coming from the very bottom of the pool.

Seung-gil swam effortlessly, arms at his sides while his thick, supple tail did all the work of propelling them along. The additional weight of the djinn on his back didn't seem to bother him at all, and Phichit remembered how easily he'd slung the heavy box of potions under his arm before. Pressing his nose against the back of the merman's neck, he saw a flicker of moment just below his hair and recognised the tiny slits of gills below his ears.

Soon the pace slowed and Phichit realised he was looking at the west tower equivalent of a common room. A stunning array of aquatic students glanced curiously at him as Seung-gil gave him a tour. The caverns below the lake had been flooded for a long time, and the constant flow of water eroded the walls into soft curves. Lake plants grew everywhere, some of which were being grazed by students as they moved around. Showing him their version of books, Phichit expressed astonishment as he heard the words whispering to him from the depths of the twisted conch shells.

Some time later, Phichit found himself tugged gently back to the surface, and realised he was becoming drowsy. Seung-gil explained that the spell was wearing off, and he would need to breath air again soon. Nodding, he draped himself around Seung-gil's shoulders and trusted the merman to get him safely back to the pool. As he broke the surface and took a deep breath, his lungs burned for a long moment as the water in them disappeared along with the last vestiges of the merman's magic. Resting his head against Seung-gil's neck as he adjusted to breathing normally again, he murmured his thanks.

“Gift for fixing pipes.”

Leaning back, Phichit gazed into the deep purple of his eyes. “Was that the only reason?”

A silver flicker under the merman's skin indicated a flush. “No.”

Smiling, the djinn ran his fingers through Seung-gil's thick black hair, watching with interest as his eyes fluttered closed at the touch. “Good...”

* * *

Several hours later, Yuuri walked into their bedroom and wrinkled his nose. “Why does it smell like lake water in here, and why are you grinning?”

Gathering up his damp clothes and rubbing his towel through his freshly washed hair, Phichit winked at the warlock. “I have a new boyfriend” he smirked, sauntering out of the room in the direction of the laundry.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot, smut and fluff!!
> 
> This chapter may be the death of some of you, please feel free to rant at me in the comments! <3

The summons to visit Yakov after dinner had taken him by surprise. The Headmaster's rooms were high in the middle section of the castle and his office was part of the suite, above the Head Prefects and well away from the normal foot traffic of the school. The rooms took up one side of a triangular waiting room and the other two sides seemed to have their own suites, both doors locked and long disused.

The headmaster's office was at the back of the suite, and Yuri indulged his curiosity as the old man led him through his living space. Yakov seemed happy to let him look, watching him as Yuri found himself in front of a series of images that looked different from the rest of the art, more lifelike and clear.

“Are... are these magical?”

“No... they were taken by an old device called a camera. Almost impossible to find these days. They're images of real people... it's called a photograph.”

Yuri squinted at the small forms. “That one looks like you.”

Nodding, Yakov pointed. “Me, my life, Lillia, and my student. This was taken not long after we opened the school.”

Staring at the tall, blonde figure standing next to the stern looking woman, Yuri felt a strange twisting sensation in his gut. “ _You_ were one of the founders? _How_ _old are you??”_

“1872 at my last birthday.”

“What the fuck.”

“Warlocks can manipulate matter, you know this. Sufficient skill allows us to cheat death, as long as we have a strong enough purpose. Tea?”

“So you live forever just to run a school full of monsters?” Yuri sat opposite the headmaster, accepting a cup of strong scented tea. Yakov raised an eyebrow at him.

“You think your fellow students are monsters?”

“Most of them are, yeah.”

“What about Otabek?”

The question caught him off guard and he frowned. “What _about_ him?”

“I understand you're quite close. Do you think of him as a monster?”

“You've been spying on me?” The witch's voice throbbed with anger, but Yakov waved his hand dismissively.

“You haven't been subtle around him, and Otabek isn't known for tolerating physical contact. It isn't much of a leap to guess you're dating.”

Making a disgruntled noise, Yuri put his tea down untouched. “Why did you summon me here? Just to perv on a student's love life?”

“Of course not.” Rising, Yakov walked over to the photographs, taking the picture of the founders down and handing it to Yuri. “The three of us founded this school on a single principle – preservation of knowledge and skills. Back then, the world was pure chaos... everything we knew was falling apart. Society was shattered, and it was impossible for magical beings to keep themselves hidden from humans. The three of us fled our town when our powers were discovered, and found ourselves a new home in a well hidden river valley. My student was a skilled artisan, and I had a head for design, so we decided to build a house... my wife, Lillia, was a powerful mage and helped us do a lot of the heavy work since we lacked any equipment. Not long after we began, the three of us conceived the idea of a school, a place where magical creatures could seek sanctuary, and we could pass on the things we remembered from before the world fell apart. None of us expected to live forever, we thought we'd die a natural death. Illforte was our attempt to leave something of value behind us.”

Gazing at the image of the three founders, Yuri thought about that. “So what does that have to do with me?”

“Your teachers report that you don't engage in class, that you score poorly in tests... your reading is behind where it should be, although I understand that's the area you've made most progress in. What's going on? I _know_ how smart you are... so why aren't you studying?”

The witch made an unhappy noise under his breath, tossing the photograph onto the couch. “I don't _need_ to study. Once I'm 21 it'll all get delivered into my head, and then I'll just go ahead and _die_ like I do _every time._ What's the fucking point?”

“It sounds like you've already given up” Yakov commented, picking up the photograph and tucking it into his breast pocket. “Don't you wonder _why_ you keep dying so young?”

“Of course I do! But no-one will tell me! They say...”

“That you made them promise not to” Yakov finished for him, nodding. “It's true, you did... but not just to annoy yourself in your next life. Every time you Awaken, you keep the memories and experiences of your life up until that point, and it changes you a little bit. Your hope has always been that one of those changes will be enough to let you succeed in your goal... and sometimes, you particularly value the time you have as a normal student.”

“Why??”

“Because you get to live, to learn... and to fall in love. That's why you made us promise not to tell you anything... so you could have that.”

Yuri narrowed his eyes. “Love... what's the point in that?”

“I thought you had a boyfriend? Don't you love him?”

“Don't be stupid. How can I?”

Yakov looked surprised. “Why are you with him then? Are you just using him?”

irritated, the witch rose and began to pace the room. He wasn't sure why he felt the urge to spill his guts to the old man, but something about Yakov's question tugged inside him. The idea that he was using the weretiger _hurt_ _,_ partly because he was wondering the same thing himself. Growling, he tried to explain the mess of feelings he had been carrying about Otabek for months.

“It's not... we haven't... look... _listen_... fuck, it's complicated... I like him _a lot_ , OK? But what's the point? He says he loves me... _but what's the point of it??_ It's like you said... I don't have a future.”

“I didn't say that...”

“And I know, _I know_ he doesn't care about that, doesn't see it as a problem... _but I do!_ I want him to be happy... not tie himself to a partner who's average lifespan is less than thirty years old!” Pacing turned to striding, Yuri's body quivering with emotion. Yakov watched him calmly, his eyes unreadable. “So no, I can't love him... I _can't_ love him... what can I offer him, besides an empty grave to mourn over?”

“So why bother at all then? Why not just avoid him?”

“ _I don't know..._ because he's kind, and sweet... and I _really_ like him... and not being with him makes me feel even worse... but it's not _fair_ to him! I AM using him!” Gasping with the pain of his words, Yuri threw himself onto the couch and covered his hands with his eyes to hold back angry tears.

Sighing, Yakov leaned back in his chair, gazing at the shaking witch. “Tell me something. If you're so sure about all this, why don't you just end it now? Kill yourself, and be reborn far away from him? I can make sure he's gone before you get back here. I can send him on an outreach program or something if he doesn't leave the school by choice once he graduates...”

“W _hat the fuck..._ why would you offer to do something like that?? _Why do you care so much about what happens to me??”_

In answer, Yakov tossed the photograph into his hands again. “You didn't ask me his name.”

“Wha... what?” Anger derailed, Yuri caught the photograph instinctively.

“My student. The third founder of the school. You didn't ask me what his name was.”

Staring at the photograph, the witch shrugged. “What does that... OK, fine... what was his name?”

“His name was Yuri.”

* * *

Otabek was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs to the Prefect's floor, concern written all over his face. Wordlessly, the blonde twined their fingers together and headed in the direction of the east tower, his mind reeling. Mulling over complicated thoughts, he led the way to the sub-prefect's room. He knew Otabek was worried about him, his smell had probably changed a dozen times during the chat with Yakov, prompting the weretiger to come and collect him.

Pushing the lounge door open, Yuri made a curious noise at the sight of a new addition to Otabek's living quarters. “What's with the fish?”

The weretiger shrugged and tossed his jacket on a chair. “Yuuri conjured it for me. Apparently he's into making little Japanese fish this year.”

“Why did Yuuri give you a present?”

Looking suddenly awkward, Otabek shrugged again. “Birthday” he muttered, turning away to make tea. Yuri threw a cushion at him.

“Why didn't you tell me???”

Batting away a second cushion, the weretiger pulled a face. “I didn't want to make a fuss... you had enough going on.”

“Oh for fucks sakes... when was it?”

“End of October. 31st” Otabek added, seeing Yuri's irritation at his vague responses. The witch scowled at him, then put his hands on his hips, his plans for an afternoon of moping firmly put on the back burner.

“I want to give you a present!”

“I don't want anything...” Otabek blinked as Yuri tried to push him down onto the chair, amused as the witch bounced off him. Dropping onto the seat obediently, he raised an eyebrow. “When are you going to remember how heavy and strong I am?”

“Shut up” Yuri gazed down at him, and the weretiger shifted uncomfortably. Usually, if Yuri wanted him to sit it meant he was about to get a lap full of blonde witch, either to curl up and read or as an initiation of kissing and cuddling. Finding himself under scrutiny was new.

“What are we doing?”

“I'm thinking.”

“Can I finish making tea?”

“No.” Leaning over him, Yuri rested his hands on Otabek's shoulders, pressing their noses together for a moment. “I'm trying to work out what to give you for your birthday...”

Baffled, Otabek shrugged, dislodging the witch. “I told you, I don't want anything...”

“I have to give you _something_!”

The weretiger sighed and ran his hands up Yuri's arms, feeling the tension in his muscles as he held himself above the chair and recognising the stubborn twist to his boyfriend's lips.. “Fine, whatever you want... just don't go crazy. Twenty isn't that important a birthday.”

“I thought you were older than that” Yuri mused, trailing his fingers through Otabek's messy hair. The weretiger's eyes closed briefly at the touch and his lips parted, signs of growing arousal that Yuri had learned to read like a well loved book. Unlocking his elbows, the witch pushed himself upright and ran his hands over Otabek's torso, smirking at the gasp when he reached the top of his boyfriend's muscular thighs.

Bracing his weight, Yuri captured the older student's lips in a fierce kiss, leaving him breathless before dropping to his knees between his legs. Otabek looked down at him blankly, too distracted and confused to register what he was doing until he ran his thumbs along the inside seams of the weretiger's pants, and the position clicked in his mind.

“Y-Yuri...”

“You said whatever I wanted” the witch reminded him, and Otabek shuddered, nerves and desire battling inside him. Locking eyes with him, Yuri pushed his fingers higher until he reached the crux of his thighs, then skipped over the growing bulge and up to the laces of his pants. “Tell me if you want me to stop” he added softly.

Groaning, Otabek sank his nails into the arms of the chair as Yuri pulled open his clothing, running the tips of his fingers lightly over the fabric of his undershorts. Until now, they'd been mostly controlled, occasionally getting hot and heavy to the point of grinding but never going beyond that. At first due to Otabek's inexperience and nerves until his confidence and trust grew, lately the reluctance had been due to the events with the incubus. For months afterwards, Yuri had been raw and skittish and Otabek immediately backed all the way off, letting the witch set the pace for their intimacy. If Yuri was ready to start moving things forward, the weretiger could find no complaints.

Working smoothly and confidently, Yuri wrapped his lips around his lover and let his hands explore, focusing his attention on the tiny moans and twitches he was producing. The urge to mentally drift was there as always, but he refused to give into it. Since they had begun dating, the witch had worked hard to keep himself present and engaged, especially since Otabek had a knack of knowing if his mind wandered and would immediately stop whatever they were doing. Something about his scent changing when he was dissociating, which was unnerving to learn. Yuri was grateful for it now though, the weeks of practice made it easier to enjoy his first taste of his boyfriend.

The weretiger's hands shifted to cradle Yuri's head, fingers sinking into thick blonde hair. Watching the witch was unbearably erotic, and soon Otabek had to look away, closing his eyes as pressure coiled in his torso. Whimpering, he rocked his hips as Yuri pleasured him, floating in the combination of scent and sensation. When the blonde was turned on his scent became an intoxicating mixture of spiced honey and musk, and the weretiger wanted to drown in it.

Unused to receiving such direct stimulation, it wasn't long before Otabek was panting out a warning. Working him until the back of his throat was coated in salt, as the weretiger reeled from climax Yuri tucked his still hard length back into his pants gently and curled up on his thighs, pulling him into a deep kiss. The taste of himself on Yuri's lips dragged an almost feral growl from the older student, and he locked his arms around the witch's waist, holding him close.

“Happy birthday, Beka.”

Murmuring thanks in a thick voice, the weretiger buried his face in Yuri's shoulder and inhaled deeply, trying to ground himself after the intense orgasm. Running his hand over the blonde's thigh, he wondered if he should try and return the favour, but nerves got the better of him, and his fingers stalled. Kissing the top of his head, Yuri pulled his arms back around his body.

“No rush, you know that.”

“Still...”

“Hush. I have something to tell you.” Yuri's expression was soft and he smiled gently at the befuddled weretiger. “I decided something while talking to the old man.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Wriggling down until they were nose to nose, Yuri looked deep into his eyes. “I love you.”

Otabek raised an eyebrow, a trace of confusion in his pleased smile. “You decided that while talking to Yakov?”

“No...” shaking his head, Yuri lowered his gaze, embarrassed suddenly about the sudden confession. “I... I've known it for a while, I just didn't think it was fair to say it.”

“That doesn't make any sense.”

“I know. I've been afraid to tell you because I thought I'd have to leave. It didn't seem right to fall in love... only for me to go and die in a few years time. Then you went and said it to me, and I got confused... but now I understand a bit more.”

“Yakov told you something” Otabek guessed.

“The old man talked to me about my previous lives... and about why I keep leaving the school. He wouldn't give me any details, but he hinted that there was something important that I felt I had to do... something that he always tried to talk me out of.” Shrugging, Yuri stroked Otabek's undercut, twisting the longer strands on top between his fingers. “For the first time since my magic appeared, I feel like I have _some_ control over my life. Maybe this time, I won't chose to leave... because I have a more important reason to stay.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You. _Us._ ” Cuddling against Otabek's chest, Yuri sighed and closed his eyes, tiredness from the strain of the day hitting him. “Maybe this time I'll chose to stay, because I have something more important to live for.”

Otabek rose and carried the drowsy witch to the bed, pulling the sheets over them. “I hope so” he murmured as Yuri curled up around him, drifting off in the warmth of their shared body heat. The weretiger kissed his hair and wrapped his arms around him. “I love you, too” he murmured as they fell asleep.

 


	14. Chapter 14

As the December full moon approached, bringing with it almost constant snowfall, Yuri buried himself in the relative warmth and comfort of the library. The conversation with Yakov had clarified more than just his endless decisions to leave the school; the Headmaster had explained that while Yuri's memories would return, his ability to _use_ that knowledge would be dictated by the limits of his mind. Simply put, unless he made an effort to increase his stamina and capacity for learning, he wouldn't understand most of what he remembered. The thought of being left even _more_ confused after his Awakening was horrifying, and Yuri immediately began applying himself to his classes, where he discovered that his lax attitude had cost him badly.

Magical Theory was the best, mostly because of the hints and understandings he gained when reading the sections on Witchcraft. Potions and Practical Magic were similar, although he noticed that his physical dexterity was lacking and his ability to conjure the other elements besides fire was non existent. By far his worst subjects were the ones broadly applied throughout the school; the 'academic' studies such as History, Geography, Maths and so on.

His reading was almost up to the level most first years arrived with, although he was conscious that he lacked any kind of comprehension of other languages. On Yuuri's advice he put that aside as a problem for next year when the Untainted Tongue enchantment would wear off, and focused on refining what he _could_ speak and read. Thankful that he didn't require languages for any of his magical studies, he spent an evening with Otabek hammering out a punishing timetable to get himself back on track over the winter, then applied himself mercilessly.

Along with knowledge and skills, the founders of the school had apparently been keen to preserve the religious and cultural holidays of as many of their students as possible. Those who had grown up in the human world found themselves explaining to the less human students traditions such as Hanukkah and Christmas, and a level of excitement was generated as Winter Solstice grew closer. Yuri deliberately absented himself from most of the festivities to avoid distractions, only allowing a small wreath in his room because it was a gift from Otabek.

Finding the witch dozing on a pile of books in the common room one evening, Yuuri shook him awake and dragged him to the warlock's private lab. “You don't seem busy, you can help me.”

“You fucking what...”

“Get set up with an apron and gloves, and I'll lay out the ingredients.”

Watching Yuri pulling out lavender, camomile and mint leaves, Yuri glared at him. “What are you doing, and why am I helping you?”

Yuuri set up a number of beakers and finally, carefully lifted a silver tin out of a locked and magically warded cupboard. Yuri recognised it instantly, and backed away shaking his head. The warlock gave him a stern look.

“I'm currently the only person in this school who can make the Aconite Potion for Otabek. What would he do if something happened to me, and I couldn't make it for him?”

“Yuuri that's... I'm not... He...”

“You're a natural potion maker, consistently near the top of your class, and this potion is the most important thing in your boyfriend's life apart from you. It's time you learned to make it.”

Blanching, Yuri continued to back away. “There's _no way_ I can do that... Otabek wouldn't trust me to...”

“He's already agreed that I can teach you. I might have given him the impression that learning was your idea...”

“Why would you do that?!”

“ _Because it should have been!_ ” Yuuri snapped, his eyes growing cold and hard for a moment. “I've been expecting you to ask for months, ever since you found out about the Were pits. If it was me, I'd be desperate to make sure Victor wouldn't have to endure that hell again... but since you're apparently too self centred for that, I decided to get involved...”

“That's not fair” Yuri snarled, “of _course_ I want him to have a backup... but I'm nowhere near capable of doing this!”

“Rubbish. You turned out the best Antitoxin in your year last month, I've been keeping tabs. You understand how to handle poisons, and your grasp of ingredients is almost better than mine already... and that's on the _tiny_ amount of studying you've bothered to do!” Relenting a little, Yuuri folded his arms across his chest. “You can do this, I know you can.”

Laying his hand on the silver tin, the warlock nodded encouragement as Yuri reluctantly put on an apron and gloves. “I'll do the tricky bit this time; we'll start by getting you used to the other ingredients, and understanding how they work together.”

As Yuri chopped up the herbs and then ground them into a paste, the older student explained the base for the potion. The main ingredient was aconite, the others were designed to reduce the impact of the poison for weres. Camomile and mint to soothe the stomach, and lavender to reduce inflammation and calm the nerves. Mixed together with water and boiled down to a thick liquid, the aconite itself was added last, using only the juices from the pressed leaves. The herb itself was carefully disposed of afterwards, and Yuuri had a set of tools that were only ever used for it, all kept in the silver tin that prevented any weres from handling it accidentally.

Yuuri prepared the aconite himself, adding it to the base made by the witch once they were both wearing masks and protective gear for their hair. As they stood together and heated the mixture slowly, the unmistakable stink began to rise.

“Make sure you bathe thoroughly before touching Otabek” Yuuri advised the blonde, and got a startled gasp as a response.

“You mean the fumes...”

“If there's any on your skin or hair, it could hurt him. It shouldn't be lethal, but it might make him quite ill.”

“Fucking hell...”

“Next month, I'll show you how to do the aconite, then after that I'll get you to make it from scratch with me supervising.”

“Yuuri...” shaking his head, the witch gave up as he saw the determination in the warlock's eyes. “I guess I should be thanking you for teaching me. I don't like it though! It's so dangerous!”

“I understand that feeling” Yuuri nodded, “I was the same when he first asked me about making it. I suppose this is selfish of _me_... wanting someone else to share the burden. Until you came along, there was no-one else he would trust.”

Unable to think of a good retort, Yuri stared silently at the viscous potion as they switched off the heat and waited for it to cool. There was something hot and bright inside him at the thought of having Otabek's trust like this, but at the same time he felt the pressure and fear of making a mistake. The cooling process took hours, and Yuri made use of that time to bathe and scrub himself, keen to be safe for the weretiger before he delivered the little vial.

* * *

After a full moon it usually took Otabek a few days to recover before he could tolerate being touched. His skin was itchy and felt tight, and it made him miserable. The extra strain of navigating snow drifts at this time of year didn't help, and to make matters worse, Leo managed to escape from his cage again. The two dragonkin were unable to restrain him, and Otabek ended up having to track him over three miles in deep snow before he found him and beat him senseless. Dragging him back to the school was made harder by the weather, and by the time the weretiger was satisfied that he was secured he felt like he'd been beaten to a pulp himself.

Normally if he'd been in a fight with one of the weres at full moon, Otabek would hide in his room to lick his wounds and heal before he had to go out again. This time, Yuri was expecting him to curl up in the witch's room as usual, and he was faced with a dilemma. It was the first time Leo had escaped since they began dating, and he didn't want Yuri to see him bloodied and battered... but he knew if he just hid away, the witch would worry about him. Reluctantly, he headed for Yuri's room and nosed open the door, discovering his boyfriend curled up around his books on the carpet beside his fire.

Chuffing gently in his ear, Otabek waited until he woke up and then stepped away, trying to hide his injuries in the low light. He'd already washed as much of the blood off his fur as he could, he just hoped it was enough. One look at Yuri's face told him he'd failed in his attempt at deception.

“Oh Beka... what happened? Was it Leo?” As the weretiger grunted sadly, Yuri shook his head. “Do you want to be alone? You look like you're in pain...”

Beyond grateful, Otabek nodded and Yuri gently touched his cheek with his fingertips. “Go, rest and heal up. I'll come and see you in the morning if you like.”

Chuffing his thanks, the weretiger pushed his nose briefly against Yuri's chest and then disappeared out of the door. He could smell the sadness on the witch, but also a velvety tone of compassion and love for him. Drinking in the scent all the way to his room, he forced himself to take some water and curled up on his bed, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Guang Hong was woken just after midnight by a pounding on his door, which revealed an angry blonde witch when he sleepily answered. Recognising that he was likely to get yelled at, he decided he didn't want a confrontation in the corridor and gestured Yuri inside.

“Before you start, I'm going to guess Leo and Otabek had a fight and you're furious about it. You can take it out on me if you like, but it won't change anything.”

Deflating, Yuri glared at the other student. Belatedly he saw the despair in Guang Hong's eyes, and the fight left him as quickly as it had come. He'd waited until Otabek had withdrawn to his room to lick his wounds, holding back the fury at the sight of the bloody weretiger. His immediate thought had been to scream at the Chinese student until he promised he'd convince Leo to take the potion and stop this madness, and he'd set out in a rage. Now he discovered that his anger had left him hollow and distraught. Opening his mouth to try and make his case, he surprised both of them by bursting into tears.

Guang Hong guided him to sit on the bed and watched him sob into his hands, passing him a cloth to wipe his eyes once he'd subsided. “Welcome to the were-boyfriend's club” he said, and Yuri shook his head in despair.

“How long have you been with Leo?”

“A few years now. Leo doesn't get as badly hurt, Otabek's always as careful as possible with him. That doesn't stop me getting upset though.”

“Is it like this every time?”

Guang Hong nodded sadly. “Every single time.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutttt~

After a full moon, it usually took a few days before Otabek could stand to be touched again. Yuri was used to handling him carefully, aware that it wasn't directed at him; the weretiger complained that he felt _wrong_ in his skin, and the inability to change form at will for the two days immediately after the moon began to wane left him irritated and grumpy. Combined with the injuries he'd received from Leo, it was nearly a week before he appeared at Yuri's door one night, wanting cuddles and shared body heat for sleep.

His wounds were mostly healed, but Yuri still took care not to brush against them by accident. They curled up together wordlessly, drawing comfort from the closeness. It was impossible to explain why Otabek warded off his nightmares, but without him Yuri's nights were disturbed and full of fear. As usual, once Yuri was in the weretiger's arms his sleep was dreamless and deep, and he woke up feeling refreshed for the first time since the start of the full moon.

Watching Otabek was one of Yuri's favourite hobbies, although he would never admit something so romantic and sappy. The weretiger usually slept on his front, legs tangled with Yuri's and his head on the crook of his arm like a pillow. The actual pillow was pushed out of the way, even though it started the night under his head, which Yuri found endlessly amusing. Features relaxed, hair messy, skin soft and silky, muscles sculpted and smooth... when Otabek was asleep, Yuri got to indulge in cataloguing every inch of him. That level of adoration would otherwise make him uncomfortable.

A huff and the twitch of his eyelids implied that Yuri's close scrutiny had woken the weretiger; sometimes his senses were a little _too_ good. Curling into him, Yuri brushed their lips together with a murmured “good morning.”

“Mmmp. Morning.” Yuri ducked his head in a practised move as Otabek yawned, avoiding the combination of teeth and soured morning breath. When he was sleepy, the weretiger's more cat-like habits emerged, and he tended to yawn as if he had a mouthful of sharp fangs. It was a measure of how the witch felt about him that he not only tolerated it, but thought it was cute.

Big brown eyes opened and Otabek wrapped his arms around the blonde, drawing him into his chest and resting his cheek on his hair. “Happy Christmas” he added, and Yuri made a curious sound. “It's Christmas morning. Did you forget?”

“No... I just didn't realise it was today.”

“That's called 'forgetting', Yuri.”

“Nope.” Snuggling down and sighing happily at the warmth from his boyfriend, the witch revelled in a moment of silliness. Their mornings together were vital to him, times when they were both relaxed and calm, before the challenges of the day took over. Otabek held him as if he were fragile and precious, and in turn he felt protected and safe for the first time in his life.

“Did you get me a present?”

“Nuh uh.”

“I didn't get you anything either.”

Yuri chuckled, nuzzling Otabek's shoulder as the weretiger's hands wandered down the length of his spine. Since Otabek's birthday, they'd made a few jokes about 'presents' and how they would handle future gifts. They'd both teased that intimacy was their preferred offering, and murmured discussions in the depth of the night had brought them right up to the invisible line they'd mutually drawn. As Otabek's touch moved lower, the witch shifted position, pushing the weretiger onto his back.

“I have something in mind for your gift...”

“So do I...”

Sitting astride Otabek's hips, Yuri gazed down at his boyfriend. “You can say no...”

“I'm not going to say no.”

“Really?”

Otabek moved himself to sitting, crossing his legs so that Yuri was perched in his lap. Effortless as always, his care in handling the blonde made the witch constantly forget how strong he was. Demonstrations like this sent a buzz through Yuri's body, a thrill that had long since lost any fear. He trusted the weretiger not to hurt him, now or ever.

“Yes, really. I... I've been thinking about it for weeks. I want to...”

Wrapping his arms around Otabek's neck, Yuri kissed him as sweetly as he could. “What have you been thinking about?”

“Us... this...”

“Mmmm... but _how_? When you think of us together, what do you imagine?”

As expected, a flush spread across the weretiger's cheeks as he considered the question. Taking pity on him, Yuri broke eye contact and began trailing kisses along his neck and shoulders, distracting him so he could speak without nerves. Otabek was always more talkative and demanding when he was aroused.

“Ahh... I... I don't know what you'd like...”

“I want whatever you want. At least the first time... I want to be so good for you, baby.” The pet name made the weretiger twitch, hands gripping harder on Yuri's hips for a moment, breath hitching in the witch's ear. That kind of talk was still a relatively new thing to him, and he loved it.

“I just don't want to hurt you... or do anything wrong... I... I want you to show me what to do...”

Heat flashed through the witch, the offer of control spiking his libido. Options raced through his mind in an instant, and he smirked against Otabek's throat, licking a wet line up to his jaw and then capturing his lips. “If that's what you want...”

“Yes” the weretiger's tone was decisive, determined, and Yuri pulled away to look at him, running his fingers through his mess of thick, dark hair.

“Let's freshen up first.”

* * *

By the time they returned to Yuri's room, Otabek was shivering with nerves and anticipation. The blonde led him gently to the bed, forcing himself to focus on his boyfriend instead of getting lost in routine and bad memories. It wasn't easy, staying present while his body made moves that lived firmly in the past, but he was determined. He wanted Otabek's first time to be with a partner who loved him, not a whore at work. A gentle push made the weretiger lie flat on the bed, and Yuri curled up next to him, pressing kisses against his throat to help him relax. “Tell me if you want to stop... or if you don't like something” he murmured, listening for the answering rumble of agreement as Otabek nestled into his arms.

They began slowly, sinking into deeper kisses the way they always did when they were together. The witch found it easy to lose himself in Otabek; the taste of his lips, the heat from his skin, the strength in his arms. Once they got started, the weretiger's hands usually wandered freely, exploring and stroking to whatever limit they'd decided on. This time, there was no limit, and Otabek shuddered in delight as his fingers traced the sharp ridge of Yuri's hips and the creamy skin of his thighs.

Giving pleasure was something the older man struggled with, inexperienced as he was. In the past, Yuri had always led and Otabek followed, too worried about making mistakes to really focus on what he was doing. He got the sense that the witch preferred it that way... the ability to control what was happening to him helped him relax and stay in the moment. Understanding, Otabek was more than happy to be led this time as well, rumbling in satisfaction as the blonde climbed onto his hips and rested his hands on his chest.

“I love you Beka” Yuri's voice was quiet and calm, but his eyes were burning green embers as he looked down at his boyfriend. “I've never loved anyone before... so I've never _been_ with anyone I've loved. I want you to know that... in a way, you're my first.”

Otabek gazed up at him, suddenly unable to speak as intense feelings gripped him. Wordlessly he stroked Yuri's hair, staring up at him in wonderment. When his voice returned, it was husky and deep, throbbing with emotion.

“I adore you... you're everything I've ever wanted, everything I never even _knew_ I wanted. I love you, Yura.”

Sinking his fingers into Otabek's hair, the blonde pulled him into a deep kiss, tongues dancing as he ran his hands down the weretiger's stomach and slowly peeled off his clothes. In minutes they were both bare, skin flush against skin. Beside the pillows, Yuri had placed a box of oils that they were both familiar with from previous nights and he reached for it without breaking the kiss, smoothly working to prepare himself while Otabek's hands trailed over his spine and dipped between his thighs.

From the moment he'd seen the weretiger fully aroused, Yuri had known he wanted to feel that inside him. Otabek told him that some people viewed bedding a were as a trophy of sorts; seeing the thickness and length of his boyfriend, the witch instantly understood why. He had incredible stamina as well as endowment... when they'd been intimate before, even after hours of playing with each other he could usually remain hard. His response when questioned was to suggest ignoring it, that it would go away on its own eventually, and Yuri had made a mental promise to himself to test the limits of that stamina one day. Not the first time though, this experience was far more important than competitive sex, for both of them.

Once his fingers were slick, Yuri shifted his weight so he could stroke his lover at the same time as he worked himself open, murmuring softly into their kiss at the sensations he was producing in himself and keeping his balance through long practice and habit more than conscious thought. His thighs took the strain, and he moaned aloud as Otabek ghosted his hands between them, massaging the muscles and cupping his growing arousal with trembling fingers. It was bliss, touching and being touched without pressure or expectation to perform... instead, the witch allowed himself to tune into the gasps of his lover, each soft sound making butterflies pulse and flutter in his stomach. Wanting to see and hear more, he pulled back from the kiss and his motion faltered for a moment at the beauty below him.

Otabek's pupils were blown so wide that his eyes seemed black, the heavy flush on his cheeks matching his puffy, kiss bitten lips as he gazed up at the blonde. Groaning, Yuri resumed his motion, murmuring praise as he worked.

“You're so beautiful... Beka, you're _beautiful..._ ”

“Y-Yura...”

Happy with his preparations, Yuri moved himself into position and left a chaste kiss on Otabek's lips. “Are you ready?”

“Y-yes...” the look in his eyes spoke just as loudly, and Yuri nodded.

“If you need to stop...”

“You too...”

Exhaling softly, the witch lowered himself onto his lover, eyes narrowing at the stretch and bracing his weight on his arms. Otabek groaned, his head tilting back as his aching arousal was surrounded by heat and slick pressure. It was more intense than anything he'd imagined, and he moaned again and again as Yuri slowly hilted himself.

Panting as his thighs touched Otabek's hips, the blonde lowered his head for long moments as he adjusted to being filled, forcing his mind to stay locked on the sensations in his body and the sounds of their pleasure. A gentle touch helped ground him, hands stroking up his spine and fingers curling into his hair. Opening his eyes, he found Otabek looking up at him.

“Are you here?”

“Y-yes... are you OK, Beka?”

“You're amazing... you feel _amazing_...”

“Can I move?”

“Y-yes... pl-please...”

Scattering kisses over Otabek's throat, Yuri shifted his weight and began to rock his hips, slow and careful at first. The reaction from the weretiger was a breathy, shocked gasp at the sensations, and Yuri hid his smile against his skin. Yuri was biting off moans himself, unable to prevent the sheer size and length of the weretiger from hitting his sweet spot with each motion. It was exactly what he'd been dreaming of, yet the reality was bittersweet... he didn't want this first time to be over too soon, but he knew he couldn't last. It had been too long since he'd felt this touch, this pleasure, and his body was yearning for release already.

Their sounds of bliss shifted gear, hitting a more desperate note as Yuri rode him and Otabek moved his grip onto the bedsheets, afraid of hurting the blonde. The witch was coming apart around him, one hand taking his weight on Otabek's chest, the other working between his thighs as he moved, and the sight of him destroyed what little control the weretiger had left.

“I... I can't h-hold back... Yura...”

“Good... that's good, baby... don't hold back.” Throwing his head back, Yuri let himself uncoil as Otabek's restraint failed and his hips bucked hard. “Oh god... f-fuck... fuck _yes...._ ” Release shook his frame and he ground his teeth together, biting back a sob of pleasure as he came. Unable to control his volume, Otabek's voice echoed in the small stone room as he hit his climax a moment later, cursing in his native language as he arched up into the blonde and they clung to each other.

* * *

In the dark, pale eyes opened as an aching sense of isolation and sadness flooded through the creature. Long limbs uncurled as it rose, crossing to the fireplace. A sinuous tail flicked as clawed fingers poked the logs, coaxing life back into the embers. As a dull, red glow filled the room, a door opened.

“You sensed it too? Or were you expecting it, perhaps?” the creature's voice was soft, yet the woman who entered the room flinched.

“I...”

“No matter. You wouldn't tell me anyway. Clinging to your neutral ground, as always.”

“I'm here, aren't I?”

“Only to watch.”

“I've helped you...” her words were cut off by a soft snarl, and she raised her chin in silent defiance. “What are you going to do?”

Staring into the fire, the creature folded itself into a chair and ran a hand through the thick, black mane that flowed over its shoulders. “The game will begin again, as it always does. He'll come hunting for me, and I'll kill him.”

“You're so _close_ this time... if he finds out about the experiments...”

“That will only draw him faster, and so I shall reset the board that much faster still. Nothing has changed.”

Shaking her head, the woman withdrew from the room and leaned against the wall as the twins nervously approached. Her features were sharp and proud, but the pair had learned to read her eyes well enough by now.

“It's starting again, isn't it.” The female twin's voice was hollow, resigned, and her brother folded his arms over his chest.

“What shall we do?”

“Work, patrol, keep watch. It will be a few years before he'll make his way here.”

“He'll die.”

Lilia pushed herself upright, her expression like ice. “Like always. He'll die, and I'll bury him. Enough chatter, get back to work.” As she watched the twins hurry away, she pressed her lips together in a thin, despairing line and mentally added _it's why he comes back here, after all._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild Plot appears!


	16. Chapter 16

The key sat cold and heavy in Yuri's palm as he leaned against Otabek's chest, unwinding in the peace of the small stone room. Yakov had given it to him earlier that day during the celebrations for his 17th birthday, tucked inside a note. Despite the cheerful chaos of the party, the key had struck a chord within him that left him breathless and shivering. He _recognised_ it, could visualise the lock it opened, but he had no idea what was behind the heavy steel door. The note simply read “This is yours. You usually trust me to give it back to you when I think you are ready. Speak with the librarian when you want to open the vault.” Unnerving gift, to say the least.

The party had been a surprise from Yuuri and Victor, with Otabek dragged into it very reluctantly. The weretiger pointed out how much Yuri hated surprises, and found himself immediately overruled and sent to organise the food as punishment. By the time March 1st rolled around, the entire tower and a number of “+1”'s from elsewhere in the school were hidden in the common area (with the notable exception of south tower), waiting for Otabek to coax the witch from his room. The roar of “surprise!” had been so deafening that Yuri nearly ignited his hands in defence before he understood what was happening. Once his panic passed, Otabek got a scolding as their friends clamoured around them, the weretiger smiling gently at the tirade as he recognised the subtle signs of happiness from the blonde.

The biggest surprise of the night was from Otabek, in the end. For the first time since arriving at the school, Yuri found himself face to face with _all_ the werecreatures that lived in the tower. He quickly realised that this was the equivalent of the weretiger's _family_ within the school, and fought down panic as Otabek led him round to meet them. The surprise and delight on their faces as the blushing weretiger introduced him as “my boyfriend, Yuri” left the witch an emotional mess, which he attempted to cover with his best 'resting bitch face'. He wasn't worried about offending any of them; he knew well enough that his scent would be telling the weres everything he was trying to hide.

Leo spent most of the evening sat on a heavy leather chair, Guang Hong dozing in his arms, and was warmer towards him than any of the others mostly because he knew Yuri was close to his lover. The other two werewolves, who'd introduced themselves as Neo and Olivia, went to bed early after stacking plates high with meat and cheese. The hyperactive pair of werefoxes were a little exhausting, so Otabek waited until they cuddled up together on a couch, Kiyoko sleepily running her fingers through Minami's red and gold hair before doing a formal introduction. Minami explained to Yuri that kitsune, as they were called in their own language, were a breed of weres exclusive to Japan, and they had arrived on the mainland in the same refugee group as Yuuri and his family. The two kitsune and the warlock had journeyed together to the school, deciding to leave their homes once it became impossible to continue to hide amongst their human relatives.

Yuuri and Victor eventually retreated to Yuuri's room, making the most of Phichit's preoccupation. The new couple had been tucked away together for hours, the djinn sitting on the merman's lap and keeping him from being overwhelmed by the crowd by alternating kisses with sips of hydration potion and mead. Deciding the party had wound down enough for them to slip away, Yuri and Otabek made their escape when Phichit's attentions on his boyfriend became positively indecent.

Snuggling in Otabek's arms once they were back in his room, Yuri turned the key over in his fingers as the weretiger read the note, a frown on his usually calm face.

“He didn't tell you anything else?”

“Just that I should talk to you about it before I opened the vault. I guess whatever's in there, he thinks I shouldn't keep it a secret from you.”

“A Legacy Vault hidden in the library” Otabek mused. “Well, I suppose it makes sense, since you've been Awakening here for so long. You probably left things you thought you might need...”

“That's what I'm afraid of” Yuri sighed, flinging the key onto the bedside table. “I'd just about got my head around _not_ leaving... what if I find something in there that ch-changes my mind...”

Otabek hushed him softly, running kisses over his hair until he raised his head and pressed their lips together. The kiss was slow and deep, and by the end of it the tension had released from Yuri's frame. “You make a good point.”

“I didn't say anything...”

“You didn't need to.” Yuri rested his cheek on Otabek's chest, listening to the heavy thud of the weretiger's heart. “You just reminded me why I want to stay... no matter what's in that stupid vault, it won't change how I feel about you.”

“If you want me to be with you when you open it...”

“No.” Yuri shook his head, tightening his arms around Otabek's waist. “I'm not _going_ to open it... not yet. I only have three years left before I get my memories back. I want to enjoy them.”

* * *

“Manipulation of the elements is one of the most valuable skills of the witch. As you'd expect, it is also one of the most difficult. Most witches manifest control over one element when they first discover their powers, and exceptionally skilled individuals learn to control an additional element. Very few in history have managed three, and the three known wielders of all four are somewhat legendary. Who can name them?”

Yuri ducked his head, dreading the answer to the question. He had pieced it together himself only a few weeks previously, when reading the chapters on Elemental Manipulation. A screaming row with Yakov had followed, which left the witch in a fury that took Otabek hours to calm him down from. Biting his lip, he tried as hard as possible to disappear into the desk as one of the other witches in the class raised her hand.

“Yuri Ivanov, Yurasha Vasiliev and Yurik Fedorov.”

“And the thing that links them is?”

“They were all Russian, descendants of the same family line, and were able to manifest and control all four elements of nature; fire, water, air and earth.”

Yuri winced again, aware of the curious looks of the class. His Russian heritage was well known, he could almost _hear_ the wheels grinding in the minds of the other students. Wondering if he was another descendant was expected given his first name, but he'd understood the truth when looking at the dates of death of the three. He hoped no-one else had figured it out.

“Mr Plisetsky, you look unwell. Do you need to see the physician?”

Grabbing onto the tiny lifeline thrown by the Theory of Witchcraft teacher, the blonde nodded and fled the class. The physician took one look at his expression and supplied him with willowbark tonic, sending him to his room to rest. Given his history of migraines, he didn't blame her for misreading the look of anguish on his face.

Otabek came to his room before dinner, pulling him into his arms without a word. Yuri buried his head against his chest and sighed morosely. “I knew the classes on this chapter would be hellish...”

“No-one realised, did they?”

“No... I don't think so. At most, they're wondering if I'm a descendant of the Three. I don't even think Professor Matthias knows th... that they're _me_. From my previous lives, I mean.”

Hugging the blonde tightly, Otabek made soothing noises. “This is the last chapter before you start revising for the first year exams. Everyone will forget about it soon enough, with the stress of the finals.”

“For now... I'm going to have to go through this next year as well...”

“The second year Magical Theory curriculum is different, as far as I understand?”

Yuri sat up and fixed Otabek with a withering glare. “So what? I'm going to be repeating the _first_ year...”

“You don't know that” Otabek's voice was instantly hard, his expression fierce enough to make Yuri flinch. The blonde wondered how long he'd been waiting to have this argument, knowing that Yuri was brooding over the exams. “You've been working so hard since November, you only lost a few months study at the start of the year.”

“But...”

“If you go into it thinking you'll fail, you probably will. There's no reason you can't pass, Yuri.”

Frowning, Yuri chewed at a fingernail until Otabek gently took his hand away from his mouth. “I've been so sure I didn't have a chance... all the work I've been doing was to make sure I didn't fail _next_ year, to give myself a head start.”

“I figured. I love you, but you are a complete idiot sometimes” Otabek told him, brushing his hair behind his ears. “Promise me you'll try and pass, even if you don't think you can. Do your best.”

“What difference does it make? If I fail, I can retake the year...”

Otabek leaned forward, kissing the tip of Yuri's nose before gazing into his eyes, a smirk on his face. “ _When_ you _pass_ , you'll be a second year. Which means you can sleep in my room at nights...”

 _On suite, with the bath they loved to share... the balcony that overlooked the courtyard which they spent the winter stargazing from..._ the possibilities ran through his mind and Yuri blinked at Otabek's expression. “Are... are you asking me to move in with you?”

“ _Yes_ , my beautiful idiot. _When_ you pass... you can keep this room as a study or whatever you want, but _yes_ , I want you to move into my suite. I want you with me, Yuri.”

“Well then” Yuri disengaged from Otabek's arms and stood up, grabbing his bag. “Looks like I've got a warlock to pester for past papers.”


	17. Chapter 17

 

“Yuri, come in. Unexpected pleasure...” Victor smiled at the younger student, leading the way through to his lounge. “Tea?”

“No, thank you. I... I wanted to ask you something... it's a bit odd.”

Sitting on the couch, Victor gestured the witch into the opposite chair. “If I can help, I will. You're a friend, and my Yuuri is very fond of you. What do you need?”

“You... you said you were an oracle. That means you can see the future, right?”

Victor raised an eyebrow, taking in the tense expression on the younger student's face. “In a way... and also, not quite the way you think. How to explain it... I see possibilities; situations that might happen, choices that could be made. There's a catch though... the future is a strange thing, Yuri. What I see _always_ comes true... _because_ I see it.”

“I... I don't understand.”

“Hmmm” Victor leaned back in his chair, his blue eyes clouded. “I told you once before that people don't always like to be told the truth. The fact is that if I don't look, their future is not set. By looking into someone's future, that future becomes observed, and therefore a reality. To put it simply; if I see your future, then it _will_ come true, and there's nothing you can do to change it.”

“Isn't that why people want to know? To find out what happens?”

“Not usually, no” Victor's laugh was hollow, dark memories playing across his face. “They _think_ they do... but in the end, when they hear something they don't like they want to change it. That's only natural... and when I explain that they _can't_ change it, they blame me for looking in the first place.”

Yuri frowned. “That doesn't seem fair. So you just refuse to look then?”

“Unfortunately, I don't have that option.” Victor sipped his tea to disguise the nervous racing of his pulse. “I'm not just a seer, I'm an _oracle_... that power has a divine origin, and comes with responsibilities. My purpose, if you like. If someone asks, I have no choice but to tell them. It's an ancient curse bestowed on many people in the past, most of whom have suffered horribly for it.” He lowered his cup and leaned forward. “All I can do is give you the warning...”

“No!” Yuri raised his hands quickly, shaking his head. “I don't want you to... that's not why I came here!”

“It's not?” Unable to disguise the relief in his voice, Victor slumped back in his chair. “Thank goodness...”

“I wanted to know what you thought about it... about knowing the future. You called it a curse, right? I'm... I think I'm the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“ _My_ curse... the 'Legacy' curse... I can find out more about it, if I want to. Where it comes from, maybe even how to break it... but if I look, I'll be one step closer to a future I've already seen... a decision I've made time and time again, that always has the same outcome.”

“Your death.”

Yuri looked stricken. “I told Otabek I wanted to stay here... to be with him... and I _do_... but knowing the truth is within my grasp and _not_ touching it... how do I ignore that?!”

Resting his chin on his hand, Victor nodded. “I understand the temptation.”

“How do you avoid it? Knowing your future?”

“Me? That's simple... I didn't.” Yuri's mouth dropped open, but Victor just shrugged. “I restrained myself for a long time... but I suffered so much that in the end I needed to know if there was a way out. I looked into my future and saw this school. I'll die here, eventually... an old man, even greyer than now. It was a peaceful future. I grasped it willingly, and made my way here.”

“A-and if it hadn't been?”

“I just wanted to know when my suffering would end. I told myself if it was to be a lifetime of pain, then I could endure it with that knowledge... prepare myself, somehow. I was lucky, I suppose... but then, knowing your own future is somewhat hereditary for my family.” Laughing, Victor finished his tea. “Does that help you at all?”

“It... no. Not really... but I think it will.” Rising, Yuri took a long, iron key from his pocket and looked at it with narrow eyes. “Yakov, Otabek, Yuuri... they all want me to stay here, live a life with them. Yakov, at least, has wanted that for a long time. But I still leave, knowing I'm probably going to die again... there must be a powerful reason for that. At first I just wanted to hide from it, but then I thought... if I do need to leave, I'm wasting years of time I could use to prepare, to try and survive it and come back to him. Them.”

“What if you don't like what you find?”

Pocketing the key, Yuri headed for the door. “Like you said... if I _know_ , then I can endure it. Whatever it is. I've been in the dark for so long, and I hated everyone who was doing it to me... yet now I'm doing it to _myself_. I can't live like this.”

“One difference between us, Yuri” Victor escorted him out, pausing before he closed the door. “When you look, your future will still be undecided. Try not to forget that. If you don't like what you see, you have the power to change it.”

* * *

The stairs below the library were dark and cool, part of the natural underground caves that had been walled off using magic to shape the stone. Yuri ran his fingers along the wall as he descended, feeling chills of deja vu. Every inch of the rock had been carved with Cyrillic, a series of repeated names and phrases that hovered just out of reach of his memory, flickering light from his lantern throwing them into shadowy relief.

...r _emember who you are... don't be afraid... don't give up... Yuri... Yuri... YURI..._

The steps ended in a small chamber with a number of empty candelabra. The librarian who'd shown him the hidden passageway provided him with candles before leaving him to the lonely journey, and he busied himself with placing and lighting them before turning to face the dominant feature in the room. The iron vault door was intricately carved with magical symbols, throbbing with power that seemed to reach out to him, recognising him and welcoming him in. His hand trembled as he inserted the key in the lock.

He sensed the magical wards on the door withdrawing, allowing him access as the barrel of the lock moved. Staggering under the weight of the door, Yuri pulled it open and stared in wonder at the room beyond. The word “vault” had given him the impression of a small enclosed space, not this echoing chamber buried beneath the school. His lantern barely illuminated a third of it as he entered.

The dominant feature was bookshelves, dozens of them, each standing seven feet high. Most of the shelves were crammed with handwritten journals, hundreds of them, with dates spanning nearly two millennia. Dotted amongst them were relics; ornaments, oddly lacquered boxes, strange things in jars. A thick layer of dust lay over everything, the accumulation of several decades of neglect. Yakov had made it clear than no-one but Yuri ever set foot in this place.

Moving through the collection of artefacts, Yuri felt the enormous weight of history pressing down on his shoulders. A whole shelf was dedicated to what Yakov had described as the source of his photographs; 'cameras' with sleek, unnatural looking designs sat next to strange devices that opened like books, but were light and contained no pages, only a series of Cyrillic letters opposite a large blank surface. Boxes and boxes of paper and round metal discs, all showing different designs, many with writing he knew was German, English, even some characters that looked like Yuuri's books, the purpose of which escaped him. Following the flow of the shelves, Yuri reached the back of the vault and raised his lantern, eyes widening at the hundreds of pictures hung there. Beside them was a desk, piled high with large, leather-bound books with strangely thick pages. Ignoring them for a moment, Yuri turned back to the wall.

A tapestry of faces stared down at him, different styles and textures, everything from photographs to hand drawn art. At first glance it was a blur, and Yuri's eyes ached in the dim light. More candelabra stood empty; filling them threw more illumination onto the wall than his lantern alone could cast. Eventually, finally, he was able to see the faces of his past.

The familiar form of Yakov jumped out of many of the images, as he'd expected. The warlock seemed unchanged in appearance, the eternal ancient standing silently beside various blonde young men. Remembering the pictures from the headmaster's study, Yuri quickly realised these images were laid out in date order like the shelves, past incarnations of himself adding to the collection as time went on. The first dozen included the tall, striking woman – _Lilia,_ Yakov's wife. After the face of the blonde changed for the first time, she was gone.

Each version of himself had similarities, he realised. The arch of the brows, the shape of the jaw... as if his soul had chased his own bloodline down through the centuries, reborn into distant branches of the same family. The eyes drew him in; that unnaturally bright turquoise green that had made him stand out as a child, and given him a high price as a teenager. None of his siblings, or his parents had shared those eyes, yet here he saw them in every face.

Overwhelmed, Yuri turned his back on the wall and leaned on the desk, breathing deeply and slowly as he tried to calm down. To distract himself, he opened one of the leather-bound books, wondering why these were different from the journals. Realising they also contained photographs, he gazed at one of his former faces, wondering why they weren't on the wall. Perhaps he'd run out of room?

It took him a few moments to notice the other figure in the photograph, but when he did the shock left him breathless. Gazing out at him, poised beside the scowling figure of the blonde, was a familiar man. Hands shaking, Yuri turned the pages, moving through the centuries until he eventually reached a face that he recognised as the _first_ version of himself, the original Yuri. Beside him was the same figure, eyebrows crinkled in an expression Yuri _knew_ meant he had been bullied into posing, the tilt of his lips indicating a smile, arm curled protectively around the taller blonde. Unchanged, un-aging, unwavering.

_Otabek._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> Next week's chapter will be the start of book 2! Subscribe to the series, or to my psued, for email notifications about updates.

**Author's Note:**

> I draw a lot of tiger inspiration from the wonderful videos by [Big Cat Derek](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10bxQVVz1dJSIUC-f5hJdA) and the CARE Rescue Texas team. If you love big cats, check them out! 
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> This story is part of the [ LLF Comment Project ](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject) which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
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> Some of my other fics you might enjoy:  
> ["Bratva on Ice"](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1173482) my Otayuri Mafia AU  
> Canon based Kink!Otayuri fans[ click here!](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1144475)  
> Vampire/Nephilim OtaYuri AU[ A Kiss To Remember](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1197235) Winner of NaNoWriMo 2018  
> Multi fandom [drabbles and one-shots](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1298186)  
> 


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